The day after our meeting with the parents of Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san, Mika and I walked along our usual route to school, discussing the information we’d dug up the previous night regarding consulting.
I wanted to organize my thoughts before I spoke with Yuji and the others. It’s always good to get another perspective, and ideas often have a way of taking shape just by talking them through.
"Consulting fees depend on the specific case, but for one-off requests, the general rate seems to be somewhere between ten thousand and thirty thousand yen an hour," I said. "That’s for standard business consulting, though, not the explorer profession."
"The stuff I found suggested a monthly retainer of a few tens of thousands of yen," Mika added. "But they also said the difficulty of the request changes the price, so it’s best to decide on a fee after an initial consultation."
"None of this is really giving us a solid benchmark."
While everything was ultimately case-by-case, I couldn't find any figures that felt like a true reference. The explorer profession had only been around for a little over a year; people with enough experience to be called experts were virtually non-existent.
I did manage to find one supposed "consulting firm" for explorers, but...
"I found a business that claims to offer explorer consulting, but their big selling point is that their instructors have reached the 15th floor. I don't know about that..."
"Reached the 15th floor? Or did they just get stuck there?" Mika asked.
"Probably the latter. They either sustained an injury that ended their career or retired because of the trauma. Something like that. If you're going to teach someone about the dungeon, the 15th floor is an awkward stopping point. If you want to consult professionally, reaching the 30th floor—where the environment changes drastically—is the real milestone."
"The 30th floor? Onii-chan... I hear some corporate explorer teams have reached it, but there are almost no civilian explorers who have. Still, I guess if I were paying for advice, I’d want someone with that kind of track record."
As Mika said, the number of non-corporate civilian explorers who had reached the 30th floor was currently minuscule. But that meant the name value alone would carry incredible weight. There would be plenty of people clamoring for their guidance.
After all, corporate explorer teams maintained their operations by utilizing multiple large-scale teams in parallel. Their systems weren't something a small civilian party could ever hope to replicate.
"Exactly. That’s why the people this 15th-floor consultant is targeting are likely complete amateurs. Anyone with even a shred of experience wouldn't look twice at someone whose claim to fame is reaching the 15th floor."
"Well, that’s true. I mean, even with your support, we reached that floor in about three or four months just by doing short sessions after school and on weekends. And that was with a massive safety margin."
The 15th floor was a place even an amateur could reach relatively quickly if they prepared properly. Of course, that wasn't guaranteed, depending on the dungeon's congestion or their active hours.
Looking at when that business started its operations, they probably only spent about six months active as explorers. If a pro explorer who can dedicate all their time only reaches the 15th floor in half a year... well, they aren't exactly elite. Even if they were active back when information was scarce, they must have been exploring quite inefficiently.
"Right? Anyway, if we use them as a reference, it looks like they charge five thousand to ten thousand yen for a one-hour session."
"Five thousand yen... That’s an awkward price point. For a general student on an allowance, that’s enough to make them think twice."
"True. From an explorer's perspective, their achievements are mediocre, and it’s doubtful if their experience and skills are even sufficient. A complete beginner might be happy to get advice from anyone with experience, but I wonder if it’s actually helpful."
If a record of reaching the 15th floor commanded five thousand yen per session, how much should we charge with our record of reaching the 50th floor? Fifty thousand yen an hour?
In the case of Tatebayashi-san and the others, even though their parents were footing the bill, charging that much to the parents of people I knew... It might be necessary, but I didn't feel great about it.
"Since there's no real market rate, I guess we'll just have to talk it over with everyone and pick a number."
"Yeah."
Mika and I reached that inconclusive verdict and let out a simultaneous sigh.
As we continued walking, we met up with Yuji and Saori-chan, who both wore similarly complicated expressions. It seemed they had been discussing the exact same thing.
"Good morning, Yuji, Saori-chan."
"Hey, morning."
"Good morning," they both replied.
When I greeted them with a light wave, the gloom on their faces seemed to lift slightly.
"You've both looked depressed since the moment we saw you," I noted.
"You've got the same look on your face," Yuji countered.
"Does that mean you guys were talking about yesterday too?"
"Yeah, we couldn't reach a solid conclusion. We were just walking along and sighing."
Yuji gave a wry smile as he filled us in on their conversation.
"So you ended up with the same result as us."
"Yeah. From what I looked up, there isn't really a market rate. There are some references for general consulting, but when it comes to dungeon explorers..."
"Well, the job itself is brand new. A comprehensive consultant for it is basically unheard of."
"The few consultants out there have mediocre track records, so I don't know if they're even worth looking at..."
It seemed Yuji had seen the same website I had. With so few options available, our research was bound to overlap. In that case, we really would just have to decide among ourselves based on general consulting rates.
"The more I look into it, the more I wonder what a fair price would be."
"I don't know... maybe forty or fifty thousand yen per session?"
"Is that expensive? Or cheap?"
"Who knows? But considering the difficulty, our track record, and our skills..."
It probably wasn't strictly "expensive."
Turning a complete amateur into a competent explorer was an incredibly difficult task. There was always the risk they could be attacked by a monster and sustain a life-altering injury.
"We don't intend to turn this into a full-time business, so it seems like it would be a hassle if we set the price too low," I said.
"You're right. If we’re too cheap, people who hear the rumors will flock to us. Especially since Tatebayashi-san and the others are juniors in the club. If people think they can get training just by joining, we’ll be overrun."
"Our club isn't officially an explorer club. Now that our original goal has been met, I’m not sure I want people joining just to become explorers."
"Yeah. I’d immediately reject anyone who wants to join just for coaching."
Thanks to our various exploits, we were fairly well-known at school as high-level explorers. There were probably plenty of students who wanted to enter the dungeon but were hesitating; if it got out that we were acting as consultants, they’d come crawling out of the woodwork. Even if there aren't any right now, the new freshmen next year would definitely be a concern.
Therefore, rather than offering a cheap price, it might be better to set a fee high enough to make a student hesitate. That way, if anyone else asked, we could use it as a deterrent: "Tatebayashi-san and the others paid this much; can you?"
"That makes sense. But putting the money aside for a moment, Yuji, how did the other thing go? The thing I asked about yesterday?"
"Oh, I tried asking the Old Man. He made a pretty sour face when I told him about the proposal."
Yuji explained his interaction with Juzo-san with a weary look.
"The second I told him we were asked to do consulting, he frowned."
"Why? It's just a conversation about teaching juniors as a job, right?"
"Yeah. But the Old Man asked, 'Since you're taking it on as a job, do you understand that it comes with obligations and responsibilities?'"
"Obligations and responsibilities..."
We had raised Mika and Saori into full-fledged explorers, but that was strictly a personal activity. Since they were family and friends, we didn't have specific goals or deadlines; we taught them at a leisurely pace while solidifying the basics.
However, doing it as a job meant providing guidance according to a contract. We would have an obligation to fulfill the terms with no deficiencies in quality. On top of that, we would bear the responsibility if something went wrong.
"Yeah. He asked, 'You'll probably have liability waivers in the contract, but are you prepared to be hated by the families if the worst happens?' Especially in this case, Tatebayashi-san and the others are just club juniors, and we only met their parents for the first time yesterday. He said even if the contract waives liability, they’ll definitely hold a grudge if something happens to their daughters."
"That... is a fair point. We can't think of this the same way we did with Mika and the others."
"Exactly. So he asked if we were truly willing to take on this consulting request. He told us to discuss that part thoroughly among ourselves, and if we don't have the resolve, we shouldn't take the job."
"...You're right. We were moving forward assuming we'd say yes, but we need to seriously discuss whether or not we should accept it at all."
Hearing Juzo-san's pointed criticism via Yuji felt like a blow to the head. We had been looking at it as an extension of how we taught Mika and Saori, casually assuming we’d take the deal with the Tatebayashi and Hino families.
But the very first thing we needed to do was decide if we were ready for the burden.
"Let’s talk about this in the clubroom after school, and we should include Tatebayashi-san and the others. Mika, Saori-chan, instead of telling them we'll have an update in a week, can you ask them to come to the clubroom? Tell them we have something important to discuss."
"Okay... I understand. Deciding whether or not to take the job definitely has to come before talking about money."
"Yes. I think I was taking the idea of 'work' a bit too lightly," Saori admitted.
Mika and Saori, who had been listening to the exchange, both looked a bit downcast, likely feeling the same self-reproach I was.
After we walked in silence for a while, Yuji let out a small sigh and changed the subject.
"Well, we haven't given them an answer yet, so it's not like it's too late. We just need to talk it through as a group."
"You're right. Let's do that."
"Yeah. Also, on another note, the Old Man said he doesn't know any acquaintances running martial arts culture schools or dojos specifically for explorers yet. He said everyone is still in the trial-and-error phase, and it'll be a while before they can offer specialized training."
"I see. That's a shame, but I guess it’s expected."
If even Juzo-san's circles were still figuring it out, it was only natural. It looked like we’d have to have Tatebayashi-san and the others attend a regular martial arts dojo to build their foundation first, and then we’d help them polish their anti-monster tactics in the dungeon.
Still, that was infinitely better than them trying to fight monsters in the main event without even mastering basic martial arts.
"Yeah. But I asked if there was a reliable place for the basics, and he gave me a list of a few dojos."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. He said each one has a different specialty and weapon system, so we should see what suits them. He suggested we evaluate their aptitudes first, then have them do a trial membership to choose where to go."
"That’s perfect. We’ll need to coordinate that with them after school, too."
At least one of our worries—how they would learn the fundamentals—seemed like it was on its way to being solved. I’d have to research the dojos Juzo-san recommended. Since they came from him, I was sure they were geared toward practical combat. Until they decided where to go, we could have Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san work on their conditioning and stamina.
"Right. But again, that's only after we decide whether to take the job."
"Of course. If we say no, all these plans go out the window."
With our expressions slightly clearer, we passed through the gates and stepped onto the school grounds.
It had been a heavy morning, but it was time to get through the day.