“Hmm. What exactly are you talking about? Forgive me, but perhaps due to my age, I’m not very familiar with Dungeons.”
The president—Gouriki Masuo—flinched for a moment, then straightened his back and cleared his throat affectedly.
“I don’t quite understand, but are you saying the difficulty level of the Dungeon I submitted was incorrect… is that it?”
“Yes. It’s not uncommon for someone without Dungeon experience to misjudge the difficulty. However, in such cases, the usual procedure is to check the ‘Difficulty Undetermined’ box on the request form submitted to the Labyrinth Agency.”
In that case, a Rank C Hunter, sometimes called a “Detection” specialist, would first scout the Dungeon.
If it seemed possible to clear, they would proceed with the攻略, and if it seemed difficult, they would hand it over to another Cleaner.
“Is that so? I’m sorry, I really didn’t know.”
“Then, on what basis did you include ‘Mini Cat’ in the list of appearing Monsters? It’s true that it’s a Rank D Monster, but…”
The difficulty of a Dungeon, excluding Rank S Dungeons, is roughly proportional to the strength of the Monsters that appear.
For example, if the appearance of “Petite Rat,” a symbol of Rank E Monsters, is confirmed, the difficulty of that Dungeon can be considered Rank E, or at most a mid-Rank D.
At least—
It’s almost impossible for a Rank D Monster like a Mini Cat and a high-Rank B Bloodhound to appear together.
“Well, listen here. I actually saw it, you know. A four-legged Monster with a forked tail that breathes ice! I got scared and ran right back home. …Besides, do you really, truly, saw this Rank B Monster called a Bloodhound? I wouldn’t think so, but are you lying to me to unfairly inflate the reward?”
“I will provide evidence.”
Kageichi took out a camera from his chest pocket and played a video.
A Dungeon Recorder.
In simple terms, it’s the Dungeon version of a dashcam, an essential item for avoiding trouble in the Labyrinth.
Recently, its mandatory installation has been under consideration, and it’s also one of the pieces of equipment that people who make a living as Dungeon Streamers are most particular about.
Of course, the video showed a Bloodhound with sharp eyes gleaming and breathing fire.
The president turned pale at the sight, and his fists trembled as he said,
“…It’s not impossible that you just cut out this part of the video, is it?”
“The beginning of the video records the scenery just before I entered the Gate. Don’t you recognize your own factory’s yard?”
“W-Well, a dog and a cat aren’t that different! You should be flexible about that.”
“Oh? So, if you requested termite extermination and it turned out to be Asian giant hornets… you’d still want us to be flexible?”
“There’s no way an amateur like me would know the difference! Right? You guys think so too, don’t you!?”
The president, his face finally turning bright red, began shouting at the employees who were watching the situation nearby.
The suburban factory seemed to be a one-man operation run by President Gouriki, and they all hung their heads without saying a word.
But that had nothing to do with Kageichi’s argument.
And his argument was not acceptable to the Labyrinth Agency or to Kageichi himself.
“This is a serious violation of the rules. Do you understand why it’s serious? Intentionally falsifying the Dungeon difficulty and applying for subjugation can have a significant impact on human lives.”
You should be able to understand if you think about it.
If a newbie cheerfully enters what they think is a Rank D or E Dungeon, only to be bitten to death by a ferocious Demon Dog before they can even escape, that shouldn’t be allowed.
Misidentification of difficulty is a serious accident that affects the security of the Dungeon industry itself, and even human lives.
And that… if it was a misidentification, that would be one thing, but if you intentionally made a false application to save on the contract fee—
It’s an unforgivable act of barbarism that disregards human life.
“Therefore, please understand that the Labyrinth Agency will be conducting an investigation into this matter at a later date. At the very least, you will undoubtedly face a fine.”
“A f-fine…? W-Wait a minute. I really didn’t know! If I didn’t know, it’s not a crime, right?”
“That’s for the Labyrinth Agency to decide. Well, I think it’s difficult for someone who made such an obvious attempt to copy an image of a Mini Cat that was attached when submitting the documents from the internet to argue that it’s not a crime.”
Kageichi turned his back as if he had no more business there.
He could leave the rest to the Labyrinth Agency.
Just as he turned his back, his back was suddenly grabbed.
His cheap suit was pulled, and when he turned around, President Gouriki’s face was as red as an apple as he said,
“T-There’s no proof.”
“Hmm?”
“There’s no proof that the Monster was really that—the video you showed earlier certainly exists, but you could have taken it on a different day, or edited it together, couldn’t you? In the first place, it’s wrong that cleaning Dungeons costs so much money, it’s just a pretext for the government to unfairly exploit us! You’re one of those guys, too,”
“I’m sorry, but listening to conspiracy theories is beyond the scope of my work. Why don’t you write about it on social media?”
Kageichi gave an exaggerated bow and left the scene.
*
After finishing work and returning home, Kageichi took a shower and reflected that today’s job was a failure.
—It was a suspicious request.
The image of the Mini Cat submitted with the Rank D difficulty was too clean, and the Dungeon type was different from what he had heard in advance, it was a “cave” type instead of a “grassland” type.
Originally, he should have questioned the violation of the rules at that point.
However, when Kageichi entered, the Gate was filled with Magical Power to the point of being on the verge of a “Gate Crash.”
The president must have left the Gate unattended for a long time.
If Kageichi had abandoned the job and left it to another Hunter, and a crash had occurred… there would have been concerns about damage to nearby residents.
That would have been even more troublesome.
Sighing, Kageichi prepared cocoa and took a break.
A cup after work sweetly soothed his frayed nerves.
Kageichi, who had a moderate sweet tooth, liked this relaxed time.
(If it weren’t for these kinds of troubles, it would be a comfortable job.)
—After all, dealing with humans is more troublesome than dealing with Monsters.
However, he had to work to live, so Kageichi cracked his neck and slowly sipped his cocoa.
It was a few days later that President Gouriki sent an email refusing to pay and hurling abuse.
It said,
“I am the hero who built this factory from scratch, and the father who bears the lives of his employees, who are like family. As the head of the family who protects them, I will stand up with firm determination against unjust claims…”
He decided to skim the rest.
Even if there were problems with the company’s management, that shouldn’t justify disregarding the lives of Hunters.
But this type wouldn’t listen even if he warned them.
Besides, the payment trouble was likely to drag on.
More than anything.
Continuing to interact with this man was likely to lead to unwanted Stress for Kageichi.
…Unfortunately.
It seemed easier to “handle” this early on, so Kageichi pushed up his glasses and began to prepare.