We had been scrambling to clean up the mess after the somewhat unexpected discovery that a dungeon had appeared on a property our company managed. Just as things were finally starting to settle down, Hirose-kun and his friends visited us, looking apologetic and carrying a gift. It wasn't as if they were the ones at fault, so it was actually quite awkward for us to have them looking so sorry. In this instance, the situation was entirely our own blunder.
After all, discovering an anomaly at the same time as a client during a property viewing—despite it being a property we were entrusted to manage—was a massive failure. With such a worldwide upheaval as the birth of a dungeon occurring, our entire company had to reflect on the fact that we should have at least conducted light surveys of our managed properties, even those in remote areas.
"Welcome. We’ve been expecting you."
When I gave them my usual greeting, they responded with somewhat stiff expressions. At this rate, telling them they didn't need to worry probably wouldn't have much effect, so I figured it was better to just proceed with my usual customer service.
As I continued attending to them in my normal manner, Hirose-kun and the others gradually began to relax.
"I see, so there was all that trouble at school after the festival."
Instead of jumping straight to business, I listened to Hirose-kun’s update on their recent activities as small talk to ease the tension. Regarding the student drinking issue, I could only say that those who went overboard were just being idiots, but the stories about student explorers and taxes were quite interesting. Certainly, if you thought about it, that was a subject ordinary high school students would never consider. There might be many student explorers who end up panicking later when it’s too late.
Once we had chatted for a while and the tension had dissipated, the President arrived. We moved on to the main topic: the proposal to increase their purchase budget that they had mentioned before.
"What kind of budget are you considering?"
I had assumed that increasing the purchase funds meant maybe doubling it—somewhere around ten million yen. However, they informed me that due to some windfall income, they wanted to consider properties up to ten times their original budget. It seemed that during the previous incident, they had pocketed more windfall income—hush money—than we had anticipated.
For a moment, I was tempted to pry out of curiosity and ask exactly how much they had received, but since the increased amount was what it was, I decided it would be unwise to dig too deep and held back.
"I understand. Please wait a moment while I prepare the materials."
After a brief bow to the President and Hirose-kun’s group, I hurried to the office to retrieve the requested documents. Once there, I asked an idle colleague to help me gather materials for properties that matched their new criteria. Since time was short, in addition to the materials I had originally prepared, I decided to bring along files for properties I had previously excluded because they were too expensive. Since the budget change had only just been presented to me, I didn't have the luxury of carefully selecting properties. I simply scraped together nearly fifty files that met the financial criteria; I figured I would just have to narrow them down while talking to Hirose-kun and the others about their other requirements.
Since the volume was quite substantial, I left the office carrying an armful of documents.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
I placed the stack of materials on the table and sorted them roughly by price range.
The first thing that caught Hirose-kun’s interest was an island. It was a property that felt romantic—an entire island for sale. However, while it was of a decent size, it was located offshore and transport was difficult. It seemed to meet Hirose-kun’s criteria, but since it required travel by boat and carried a high risk of isolation if the sea turned rough, it wasn't a property I could recommend in good conscience.
"If the transport is bad, it's a bit inconvenient for us since we can't use cars. The main means of transport we can easily use is bicycles..."
As I listened to them talk about their means of transport while they scrutinized the materials, the President, intrigued by the mention of explorers using bicycles, bit.
Then, Hirose-kun and the others described the staggering impact an explorer had when using a bicycle.
(Just by pedaling normally, they can reach speeds comparable to a car? They can travel dozens of kilometers in a short time without any real fatigue?)
If I hadn't heard the word "bicycle" at the very beginning of Hirose-kun’s story, I would have mistaken it for a conversation about traveling by motorcycle. Bicycles are the most familiar and simple means of transport, used by everyone from children to adults. They are inexpensive, require no special license, and most people can master them with a little practice. They are items that make life convenient, allowing one to move easily and quickly and transport reasonably heavy loads.
And yet, on the premise of being used by a mid-tier explorer, it was suggested that they could transform into a staggering means of transportation that overturned all conventional common sense.
"If an explorer uses it, even a bicycle becomes a proper vehicle that can hold its own against cars or motorcycles."
Well, commercially available bicycles probably aren't designed to move at those speeds, so the bike itself would likely give out first. While there are currently no regulations under the Road Traffic Act, if the number of mid-tier explorers using bicycles increases, I'm sure regulations will be introduced. After all, student explorers like Hirose-kun and the others would likely use bicycles as their daily means of transport for things like commuting to school.
A group of students riding bicycles at motorcycle speeds... I guess their morning commute is basically a road race? That's a somewhat terrifying sight to imagine.
"In that case, we can consider your mobility to be on par with an automobile. That expands the range for potential properties... Would properties within a twenty to thirty-kilometer radius of the nearest transportation be acceptable? If you can go up and down mountain roads without much deceleration, then properties in mountainous areas are also candidates."
The constraint on travel distance, which I had narrowed down because Hirose-kun and the others were high school students, was significantly relaxed by the existence of bicycles. Apparently, if the bikes were foldable or the type that could be disassembled, they could even be carried onto public transport in specialized bags—provided it wasn't crowded, of course.
Thinking about it that way, a fair number of properties now fit the criteria.
"Considering everything we've discussed, let's pick out a few properties."
When I re-examined the materials with the new criteria in mind, two promising properties emerged, despite having a few issues.
The first was an entire small mountain with good transport access. The price was within the new range, but the problem was that the mountain was covered in cedar trees. During the season, a massive amount of pollen would fly from the forest, making the surrounding area quite harsh. Cutting down the cedars would likely improve the environment, but the work—including the logging—would require a large amount of capital, potentially equaling or exceeding the purchase cost of the mountain itself. Considering the location and the size of the grounds, it was quite a bargain, but after discussing it with Hirose-kun and the others...
"I see. It's a shame it didn't meet your standards."
As expected, land where one would suffer from cedar pollen was a no-go, so the first property was dropped from the list.
Tucking my disappointment away, we decided to reset the atmosphere with some tea and take a break.
Hirose-kun and the others seemed quite interested in the second property I introduced, so the four of us decided to go for a property viewing on-site. It was about an hour away by car, but since we'd be chatting along the way, I figured it wouldn't feel that long.
Besides, I had plenty of things to talk about... or rather, to complain about.
"Honestly, it was just day after day of 'documents, documents'—I lost track of how many pages I had to submit..."
Inside the car on the way to the viewing, I vented my frustrations to Hirose-kun and the others about the work I had been doing since finding the dungeon on our managed property. I knew it wasn't particularly commendable behavior, but I couldn't exactly leak my grievances inside the company, and I couldn't tell strangers who didn't know the circumstances. I had no choice but to complain to Hirose-kun and the others, who understood the situation. Normally, complaining to a client would be unthinkable, but after accompanying them on so many viewings, we had become quite close, so I figured it was fine... probably.
Once I finished venting the frustrations I had been bottling up, I decided to tell them a bit about the moves Kiritani Real Estate had been making since the discovery.
"Seriously... Humans sure are greedy. Until the dungeon was found, they were telling us to find a buyer as soon as possible, but once it was discovered, they've been insisting they won't sell yet."
Releasing a long sigh, I voiced my complaints about the actions of the landowners who owned the surrounding plots. It was a perfect example of a sudden about-face, and I had been spending my days holding my head at their behavior. I could understand thinking that land which hadn't been worth a pittance until now might sell for a high price because of the dungeon, but the situation now was different from when the dungeons first appeared.
My impression from the procedures was that the government and the Dungeon Association, partly due to budget constraints, feel they only need to secure the bare minimum of necessary locations. Fortunately, at this point, no damage has occurred, such as monsters overflowing from the dungeon, and since the dungeon found this time is far from any densely populated areas, I think they believe there’s no problem as long as they secure the land immediately around the dungeon and the connecting road portions.
"Don't they realize that if they're stingy when it's time to sell, the buyers who finally appeared will just walk away? If they miss this opportunity, a buyer might not appear again for decades."
I've been trying to persuade them that they should let go of the land quickly regardless of the price, but people whose eyes have been clouded by greed don't listen easily. That said, if they keep holding out for a price hike, there's a chance the state or the Dungeon Association will simply wash their hands of it, deciding not to buy if they won't agree to the offered price. And then, when the long-awaited buyers leave as a result of their own actions, they'll try to pin the responsibility on us. They'll say, "Why didn't you advise us to sell sooner!" It's the height of unreasonable anger; they didn't have ears to listen even though I told them over and over to sell.
Thanks to that, my days are spent visiting the landowners' houses over and over again to repeat my persuasions... I wish they'd give me a break.
"Ah, we're almost at the destination."
While I was talking about the aftermath of the dungeon discovery mixed with complaints, we had arrived near our destination. The surrounding area was a series of similar mountain roads, and I felt like I would have gotten lost without the car's navigation.
Following the navigation, we arrived at the site. We parked the car on the shoulder and prepared to begin the property viewing.
"We've arrived. How was the journey here? There were some quite steep mountain roads along the way..."
"With a gradient like this, I don't think it'll be a problem even when climbing by bicycle. However, I was a bit concerned that there weren't any stores like hardware stores on the way. If we buy this place and convert it into a training ground, procuring the supplies we'll need might be difficult without a shop nearby."
Hearing Hirose-kun’s impression, I recalled the local geography, but I couldn't think of any shops nearby where development materials could be procured. I think there was a small hardware store at the foot of the mountain, but there was no way they could supply enough materials for land development. The weakness of a bicycle—having less carrying capacity than a car—had revealed itself here.
Hirose-kun and the others were discussing whether they could transport supplies by attaching a rear car to their bicycles, but honestly, doing that on a mountain road with a significant gradient would be dangerous.
"Let's put the method of transporting supplies aside for now and think about it later. Why don't we view the property first? Even if you think of a great transport method, it'll be for nothing if you don't like this place."
"Now that you mention it, you're right. It seems better to finish the viewing first before thinking about it."
If we kept thinking, we might come up with a clever method, but more than anything, the conversation wouldn't even start unless they liked the property. Besides, at worst, listening to their talk, it sounded like they could solve it with brute force—not by attaching a rear car to a bicycle, but by pulling the rear car themselves to transport the supplies.
A group of teenagers pulling a rear car loaded with hundreds of kilograms of supplies up a mountain road... That sounds like something out of a local ghost story.
"You can get down there by descending the slope from that break in the guardrail. The slope is bare earth, so please be careful not to slip!"
And so, leading Hirose-kun and the others, I began descending the slope to start the viewing, checking my footing step by step. I hope we don't find anything strange this time... It couldn't possibly happen again, right?