I led Hirose-kun and his party cautiously down the slope from the gap in the guardrail. The ground was packed down enough that the path was wide enough for two people to walk abreast. It wasn't paved, however, meaning there was a distinct possibility it would wash away in a heavy downpour.
Taking care not to slip, we continued our descent until the slope leveled off into a small, open clearing.
"It’s a modest clearing, but I think you could manage a rest area, a warehouse, or some other structure here," I suggested.
"It's reasonably spacious," Hirose-kun noted. "It looks like it would make a good materials yard."
"Bringing materials down all at once from the national highway would be a nightmare," I added. "I think this could serve as an intermediate storage point. Since it's on such a steep incline, bringing in heavy machinery would be nearly impossible."
If someone wanted to bring heavy machinery here for development, it would require significant preparation—specifically, leveling the ground to create an actual access road. If they wanted to avoid the high cost of that roadwork, they’d have to rely on small portable equipment or manual labor.
In other words, it was a classic case of needing to perform construction just to perform the construction.
"True," Hirose-kun agreed. "The slope is manageable if you're carrying light gear, but if you had a heavy load that required two people... that would be rough. Let alone trying to bring down construction equipment. Wouldn't the prep work alone take about a year?"
"Depending on the personnel and budget, it would probably take about that long just to carve an access route to the bottom of the valley," I replied.
On top of that, the roadwork alone would likely cost as much as the property itself. If someone cut corners to save money, a major landslide could occur during heavy rains, centered right on the new path.
At worst, it wouldn't just take out the national highway above; the debris could dam the river and trigger a debris flow, devastating the downstream areas. If such a catastrophe occurred, there was no way an individual—or even a company—could ever take responsibility for the damage.
"That’s true," Hirose-kun muttered casually. "In that case, the fact that we're explorers is quite convenient for clearing a place like this. We can act as our own heavy machinery."
His remark wasn't particularly loud, yet the claim that they could naturally replace industrial equipment with their own bodies reached my ears with startling clarity. Based on my experience accompanying him on previous viewings, I realized that what he’d said wasn't some delusional tall tale.
When I stopped to think about it calmly, wasn't it bizarre that I could so easily accept the idea of an ordinary-looking student standing in for a bulldozer? Why was I so readily convinced?
"You're right," I said aloud. "Given how all of you have operated so far, developing this on your own wouldn't be that difficult, provided you had expert supervision. You might be able to bypass the 'preparatory construction' that usually stalls development in these wilderness areas."
"True. Though that comes with the caveat that it only applies to intermediate explorers or higher..."
Hirose-kun gave me that advice with a look of slight regret. Honestly, it would have been more concerning if he’d said a beginner who’d only been active for a month could do it. What kind of world would it be if people capable of replacing heavy machinery were just popping up left and right?
While I was lost in that thought, the conversation moved on.
"In a few years, we might see students in job interviews being asked, 'What did you focus on during your school days?' and they'll answer, 'I worked hard on my explorer activities!'" Hirose-kun mused. "The follow-up will be things like, 'I reached floor X,' or 'Can you substitute for heavy machinery?'"
It sounded like a plausible future if the dungeon boom continued. Being an explorer wasn't just about what happened inside a dungeon; it was about the influence they exerted on society. Based on what I had witnessed during my time with Hirose-kun and his party, I felt that the impact would be profound.
Even looking strictly at my own field, properties that had been considered "negative property"—unmarketable assets left to rot—were showing signs of becoming prime real estate for the explorer market. A location that an ordinary person would struggle to even reach was nothing more than a light stroll for an explorer of a certain level.
"My company expects that future to arrive eventually," I told them. "The President says that if we're going to market to explorers, we need staff who understand their needs. We're currently compiling data on properties for explorers so we can respond to their requests immediately. We believe the demand is only going to grow, so we're using your property search as a reference to gather data."
Properties that were once liabilities could be sold as high-quality assets to the right explorer. For the real estate industry, this was a massive opportunity. However, it wasn't a matter of things selling themselves; we had to understand what explorers were actually looking for.
Furthermore, while the demand in this new field was currently enormous, it was still finite. Over time, the initial rush would cool, and as supply increased, competition between companies would inevitably intensify. To survive, we had to grasp consumer needs now and establish a brand favored by explorers. We needed the know-how to introduce the most suitable properties faster than anyone else.
"I see," Hirose-kun said. "In that case, we'll have to make sure we provide good reference data for Kiritani Real Estate."
Having the cooperation of a party with the top-tier skills of Hirose and his group was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In any industry, gathering data on the middle tier was simple enough, but obtaining data from the top tier was notoriously difficult. You could hire middle-tier explorers for a study, but you couldn't even get a meeting with the top tier without a solid connection—and even then, there was no guarantee they’d agree.
As demand grew, such requests would only increase, making top-tier explorers even harder to reach. Securing their cooperation now was a stroke of incredible luck for our firm... even if it did mean having my common sense shattered on a daily basis.
After finishing the tour, I brought Hirose-kun and his party back to the office. The whole trip had taken about four hours including travel, which was surprisingly quick for a site deep in the mountains. The places we’d visited before had been so remote that the fact a national highway actually led to the entrance of this one felt like a luxury.
While Hirose-kun and the others waited in the reception room, I went back to the office to report in.
"I'm back from the viewing, sir."
"Good work, Yuta-kun. Well? Did Hirose-kun and his friends take a liking to the property?"
"Ah, President. Yes, they seemed to appreciate the accessibility compared to the previous sites. They liked the location, but since most of the land is on a slope, they're still weighing their options."
"I see. It is a difficult layout, and having a dam upstream adds another layer of complexity. The location fits their criteria, but as a site for a training ground, it’s quite the challenge."
The President frowned slightly. Since he had hand-picked this property specifically to meet Hirose-kun's revised conditions, he was likely worried that he’d missed the mark.
Personally, I thought it was unavoidable. When the criteria change mid-search, you have to start the selection process from scratch.
"And Yuta-kun... this is the most important part. You didn't find anything 'strange' this time, did you?"
"No, sir. Of course not. Something like that isn't going to happen twice in a row."
When I gave my report with a weary look, the President let out a long sigh of genuine relief. During the last viewing, we had stumbled upon a dungeon, which had caused a massive scandal. Between the Dungeon Association, the government, the local authorities, and the landowner, we’d been buried under a mountain of paperwork I never want to see again. We’d even had to send the entire staff out to check every other property we managed. I had no desire to repeat that ordeal.
"That’s good. So, what are they doing now?"
"Waiting in the reception room. I believe they're discussing today's viewing."
"I see. Then I'll go have a word with them myself."
The President stood up, and I followed him toward the front of the shop.
As we entered the shop, I saw Hirose-kun and the others looking our way from the reception room. They looked a bit tense. Had they run into a problem?
"Thank you for waiting," the President said. "I'm glad to see you all returned safely."
"Sorry about that 'incident' last time," Hirose-kun apologized.
"No, no, don't give it a thought. That trouble was ultimately caused by our lack of oversight..."
The President was right. If we had thoroughly inspected our managed properties when dungeons first began appearing, the discovery wouldn't have happened at such a chaotic moment. We were lucky the customers were people like Hirose-kun who could handle themselves; my blood ran cold thinking about what might have happened if ordinary civilians had wandered into an active dungeon during a viewing. It could have easily become a case of professional negligence resulting in death.
While the paperwork had been a nightmare, we’d actually been quite lucky.
"So, what did you think of the property? Yuta-kun mentioned it seemed promising."
As the President asked for their feedback, the group shared their impressions. The President listened with interest, though I saw his face twitch slightly as the conversation progressed.
Well, anyone would react that way when told that a person can replace a bulldozer if they just have the right tools. The fact that a single explorer could develop a difficult site as quickly as heavy machinery was a fact that turned the industry’s common sense upside down.
"I see. I understand."
The President managed to regain his composure and began discussing the current state of training grounds for explorers. Having seen the reality of top-tier explorers firsthand, the necessity of them owning private facilities became much clearer.
He was now certain that demand for dedicated training grounds would only increase, making it a viable business model.
In the end, Hirose-kun and the others made a somewhat unexpected proposal, but we reached an agreement. I was a little disappointed that the deal shifted from a purchase to a lease, but since they promised to buy the property eventually, it wasn't a major issue. More importantly, as a trade-off for the contract change, Hirose-kun and his party agreed to let us gather data on an explorer's development capabilities. For our company, that was the real prize.
"Are you sure about this, President? Changing it to a lease? If they decide not to buy it after the lease period ends, we'll take a significant hit."
"There is a risk, yes," the President admitted. "But in the long term, even if they walk away from the purchase, the data we gather here will be invaluable. It's the foundation for capturing the explorer market. You could say this data on the top-tier of today is essentially data on the mid-level tier of a few years from now—the segment where the most demand for training grounds will be. This is our chance to understand exactly what that market wants, ahead of everyone else."
He flashed a dependable, slightly devious grin. 'Sacrifice the short-term for long-term gain'—it was a phrase I’d heard in business, and now I saw exactly how it was applied.
"That's the plan, Yuta-kun. While they're still interested, let's start with some basic data collection. Get the preparations moving."
"Yes, sir!"
"And don't let up on picking out new properties for them. Finding the quality sites they’re looking for is the key to maintaining this relationship."
"Leave it to me! I'll find the best properties on the market!"
I was going to be incredibly busy, but I couldn't help but smile. I had been entrusted with a job that would determine the trajectory of Kiritani Real Estate for years to come.
Alright, time to give it my all!