arc2 · 090-ch90

Chapter 90: It'll Be Like This for Now

I'm posting on the status update page that I've released the limited versions of the three side stories. If you'd like, please enjoy those as well.

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After attending my university lecture, I was thinking about what to do in the afternoon when I got a message from Arihara-san. Apparently, there's something they want to talk to me about regarding the recent incident. Since I hadn't decided on any plans yet, I headed straight to the Dungeon Agency on my way.

By the way, Hayate is currently patrolling the Tokyo Skyscraper Dungeon.

I got into a taxi and told the driver the destination. Now that I think about it, I take taxis a lot. Should I get my driver's license? Nah, I don't have time for that right now. Besides, this way I can operate my drones and think about various things while I travel. It's convenient, you know?

Before I knew it, I had arrived at the government building.

"Sorry to bother you when you're busy. I really wanted to thank you in person!"

As soon as we entered the usual room, Arihara-san grabbed both my hands and expressed their gratitude. They already thanked me over the phone, but they're such a thorough person.

"No, I was just doing my job."

I said that, but...

"Please don't be modest! We were able to reduce the damage so much thanks to Soramine-san! We've also received thanks from the explorers you helped, and I was even praised directly by my superiors!"

Oh, that's great. I've received a lot of help from Arihara-san, so if I was able to repay even a little bit, it was worth putting in the effort.

"So, is that what you wanted to talk to me about directly? Oh, and Hayate is currently on patrol, so if anything is discovered, I might have to interrupt the conversation briefly."

I asked, figuring they hadn't called me just to thank me. I also let them know that Hayate is on patrol.

"Yes, of course I wanted to thank you in person, but there's something else I wanted to discuss. Thank you for the patrols. But please be careful not to get into any accidents, okay? Ah, first, please have a seat."

Prompted by Arihara-san, I sat down on the sofa. Arihara-san placed a drink they had prepared beforehand on the table. I gratefully took a sip of the orange juice and waited for Arihara-san's explanation.

"Actually, I have a proposal regarding the dungeon patrols. If it's not too much trouble for Soramine-san, I was wondering if we could post the patrol routes for that day on the Dungeon Agency's homepage."

According to Arihara-san's proposal, since the daily patrols are a heavy burden, they suggested scheduling patrol days in advance, posting them on the website beforehand, and also showing the approximate patrol route.

This would reduce my burden while allowing explorers to plan their expeditions with the expectation of patrols. Rather than me working hard on my own, it was an idea to have the explorers meet me halfway.

Of course, there will be parties that don't care about that, but Arihara-san said that would be fine since it's their own responsibility.

After that, there was another proposal: to basically conduct patrols with Asahi, and have Hayate focus on selling potions. This was also based on the idea that by posting the patrol routes, explorers who want to purchase can come to us. Now that they mention it, that does seem more efficient.

Hayate would finish selling, do a quick patrol, and then move to the next location. This was a method to handle both patrols and sales without overdoing it. Of course, if any trouble occurs during Asahi's patrol, we would re-summon Hayate to handle it, and if we communicate this in advance, it would be easier to deal with.

I decided to accept Arihara-san's proposal. On top of that, I decided to provide the dungeon maps that Asahi and Hayate created. If we write the patrol route and approximate passing times on these and publish them on the Dungeon Agency and SS's homepage, that should work.

"I-is it really okay to use such an accurate map?"

Of course, there have always been maps of some quality circulating around. However, the deeper the floors went, the more errors and gaps there were, so they weren't very reliable. It seems they were surprised that such an accurate map had suddenly appeared.

"Yes, please use it to help increase the survival rate of the explorers as much as possible."

"Your generosity is greatly appreciated."

Arihara-san bowed their head to me again. Just that alone made giving them the map worthwhile. After that, Arihara-san and I worked out the details, such as which days to patrol and the patrol routes.

At that time, we happened to talk about the chase between Asahi and the Shooting Hornets, but I was told not to do that in the future since it could cause trouble if other explorers happened to encounter us and thought we were pushing monsters onto them.

I suppose Arihara-san is right, so I'll be more careful from now on. I'm really grateful to have someone who corrects my behavior like this.

"Thank you very much today. Thanks to you, I feel like I can handle things a little better."

I thanked Arihara-san after finishing everything.

"No, no, we can't have Soramine-san collapsing from overwork, you know. Also, regarding the recent incident, I'm going to try talking to my superiors about whether Soramine-san's taxes can be exempted like those of explorers."

Ooh, that's Arihara-san for you! I didn't expect them to take care of my tax concerns. But I can't just sit back and relax—I need to work hard to obtain my explorer qualification myself.

From now on, I'll decide on patrol days according to my schedule and post them on the Dungeon Agency and SS's homepage. When there's nothing else, I'll patrol three days a week.

I hoped this would help the explorers in some way as I took a taxi back home.

▽▽▽

"I'm back."

"Welcome home."

"Onii-chan, you're back!"

After exchanging greetings at home and washing my hands, I immediately sat at the dining table. It seems I managed to time my return just right. Today's dinner is rice, karaage (fried chicken), vegetable salad, and consommé soup. Mom's karaage is juicy and delicious, so I'm looking forward to it.

While eating the delicious karaage as usual, we each shared the events of our day. Ohh, Umi got a perfect score on another test again. Rather than the perfect score itself, I asked her about the effort she put in to get it and praised her for it. This way, she learns that trying hard is important.

Well, after dinner, it's time for the usual SS homepage maintenance work. First, let's check the streaming video of Indomitable that I uploaded to the SS homepage... Wow, it's really blowing up. Not quite to the level of Hyakka Ryouran, but it's growing at a rate that's about to overtake the Dungeon Club's view count.

Well, those two older guys were pretty cool and had a lot of character. The video probably appealed to the connoisseurs.

Next, I'll create a page to post the new patrol routes. I'll write down the routes and approximate times, and also make sure it's clear which days I'll patrol each week.

Now for the email check. But there was an email that wasn't a request. The sender is Shinonome-san from Kokushi Musou.

(Could this be...!?)

My heart racing, I opened the email to find it was about the thing I'd been looking forward to. Apparently, they're going to introduce me to an Enchanter! Yes! Now I can enchant Asahi with Malachite!

And it seems this Enchanter is close friends with Shinonome-san, and they said it's fine to visit anytime as long as it's through Shinonome-san's introduction. What amazing service! I knew relying on Shinonome-san was the right call.

The enchanting itself apparently doesn't take much time or effort as long as you have the materials. However, it consumes a lot of magic power, so there should be a limit on how many times they can do it per day.

I don't know how many requests they usually get on a regular basis, but it's really kind of them to say I can come anytime.

I immediately replied, saying I'd visit tomorrow afternoon. This gives me something to look forward to tomorrow.

After finishing the email checks, I got ready for bed and crawled under the blankets, imagining what kind of enchantment Asahi would receive.