Chapter 15: The Struggles of Masaru Shinyama ②

“Good morning, Karen-san.”

“Good morning to you as well.”

The next day.

Karen-san and I met up early to head to the Dungeon Association’s Okutama Branch to meet Elena-san.

Today’s Karen-san had traded yesterday’s gothic lolita fashion for a more subdued outfit. When I asked her about it, she explained, “That was my dungeon attire.” I see, so it’s similar to how I wear my black tracksuit.

Upon entering the association, Elena-san greeted us.

“Good morning, Sato-san. And to you as well, Nee-san.”

With her beautiful blonde hair swaying, Elena-san offered a polite bow. Today, her hair was styled in an elegant braid, giving her a more mature look. It suited her perfectly.

“Good morning, Elena. It’s been a while.”

“Elena-san, thank you for taking the time to meet with us today.”

We returned Elena-san’s greetings.

“It’s no trouble at all; Sato-san always helps us. Here, take this energy drink. Now, please, follow me.”

As always, I accepted the energy drink from Elena-san before heading further inside. The label on the drink read “Super Thousand.” Looks like it’s been upgraded.

The room we were taken to was a slightly spacious conference room, with a few long tables and a large whiteboard at the front.

As we sat down, Karen-san nonchalantly chose the seat next to mine. Elena-san seemed to want to say something about that but held back.

I took this opportunity to report yesterday’s events to Elena-san. I also handed over the information I had jotted down on my phone. I wasn’t sure how useful it would be, but sharing information never hurts.

“I see… so that’s what happened,” Elena-san said, pressing a finger to her lips as she pondered.

“By the way, Taichi, what rank are you?” she asked suddenly.

“Me? I’m C-rank.”

“What? C-C-rank…? Elena, why is that?”

“Taichi-san donates his mana crystals.”

“My goodness… that’s just like you, Taichi.”

The reason my rank hasn’t risen is exactly as Elena-san explained—I donate my mana crystals.

Mana crystals only count as achievements when they’re submitted to the country. Because I’ve been donating them instead, my explorer rank hasn’t gone up for a long time.

“Well, it’s not like I need the money anyway.”

“No, that’s an incredible thing to do. Many explorers could learn from you, Taichi.”

For S-rank explorers, the support they receive from the government is quite substantial. As a result, the government doesn’t go out of its way to encourage rank promotions. A formal application is required.

From the government’s perspective, there’s no reason to support explorers who don’t contribute mana crystals. In exchange for the energy provided by mana crystals, the government offers explorers various privileges.

In other words, if you want to rank up, you need to submit mana crystals to the government. It’s a system that’s somewhat like taxes.

There’s also a way to include donated mana crystals as achievements for rank promotion, but the process is extremely tedious.

It involves an absurd amount of paperwork, and you get sent from one department to another endlessly. I gave up after one attempt.

Elena-san once offered to handle the process for me, saying, “I can do it for you,” but I felt bad imposing on her. The staff at the association are notoriously overworked, and I didn’t want to add to her burdens.

“Thank you for the information, Taichi-san. I’ll make sure to report all of this to my superiors.”

Elena-san diligently recorded everything I said, compiling it into a formal report. Her handwriting was remarkably beautiful.

“Please do. It might just be unnecessary concern, but still…”

“No, there’s wisdom in being prepared. Besides, there’s still so much we don’t know about dungeons. Even minor changes like this can be important information. Unfortunately, more and more people these days are hoarding information or neglecting to report it altogether…”

Elena let out a long sigh, clearly troubled by the current state of explorers.

“Elena, we’re counting on you. This is information we gathered together, after all!” Karen-san declared with emphasis.

“I-I got it, Nee-san…”

After some casual small talk, we left the association.

As I was heading home, Karen-san quietly followed behind me. Then, for some reason, she slipped into the passenger seat of my car, buckled up, and made herself comfortable.

“…Um, Karen-san?”

“Yes?”

“What exactly are you doing?”

“Oh, don’t mind me.”

“……”

I gave up and started the car engine.

…Good thing I tidied up the house.

◆

On the same day Minase Karen headed to Taichi’s house—

In the seventh floor of the Phantom Tower.

The S-Rank Clan Everlight was facing a grueling battle.

“Damn it! Why are there so many enemies today?!”

The leader, Masaru, cursed as he dodged an incoming attack.

The reason for their struggle? Just a few days ago, they successfully defeated the Vision Lich for the first time. However, the number of these monsters had skyrocketed since then.

Previously, the upper limit on a single floor had been three. Today, there were seven—more than double.

“Hey, Shigeru! Keep the targets locked down!”

“I-I’m trying! But there are too many of them!”

In reality, Shigeru had already drawn aggro from five enemies. Meanwhile, Masaru was dealing with the remaining two. It was obvious who was contributing more to the battle.

“Enough excuses! Our attacks don’t work on these things, so just buy us time!”

The rest of the team was already on the verge of collapse. They had taken on the brunt of the attacks to protect Masaru.

“Masaru-san, we need to retreat! If we keep this up, we’ll be wiped out!”

Shigeru, who was reaching his limit, shouted. If their last line of defense broke, the battle would be hopeless.

Clicking his tongue, Masaru reluctantly gave the order to retreat.

Barely making it back to the safe zone alive, the team wore grim expressions. Newcomer Yuuto’s injuries were particularly severe, and they decided they could no longer continue exploring. They exited the dungeon.

After dropping Yuuto off at the hospital, the group returned to their office and began a meeting to discuss their next expedition.

“Masaru-san… didn’t today’s dungeon seem strange to you?”

Shigeru broke the silence.

As the team’s tank, he had noticed something unusual about the Vision Liches.

“Of course, I noticed. You’re talking about the number of them, right?”

“Well… that’s part of it, but…”

It wasn’t just the sheer number. Shigeru had sensed something else.

It was the monsters’ coordinated movements.

As a tank, Shigeru was especially sensitive to how monsters behaved. That’s why he caught the subtle signs.

“It felt like… the monsters had a will of their own…”

“Hah? Don’t be ridiculous. Are you just trying to make excuses for failing to manage aggro?”

“No! I’m just saying what I observed—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

“Please, listen! We should report today’s abnormalities to the Dungeon Association!”

Shigeru’s earnest demeanor was met with a cold glare from Masaru.

After letting out a sigh, Masaru responded.

“You want to report that we ran away from the dungeon because ‘something felt off’? Have you no shame?”

“Wha—?!”

Shigeru was rendered speechless by Masaru’s harsh words. The other members remained silent, unwilling to intervene.

“Anyway, don’t breathe a word about what happened today. As for Yuuto’s injuries, we’ll just say he made a careless mistake.”

Masaru stood up and left the room.

He had plans to attend a drinking party.

Rumor had it that Minase Karen would be there—a woman he had longed to meet. Masaru had been looking forward to this day.

Though he had been blocked by Kanade, his ability to move on was remarkable.

Settling into the backseat of a taxi, Masaru opened his smartphone and grinned at an image of Minase Karen.

(Minase Karen… the world’s only SS-Rank Explorer. A woman worthy of me.)

That evening, however, Minase Karen did not show up at the drinking party.