Kageichi Futsuu disliked unplanned events.
Lateness, unexcused absences, unexpected work troubles, unnecessary social drinking—things like that.
That said, if the reason was something unavoidable like a typhoon or an accident, he understood.
Or, if it was a wedding or funeral, even if Kageichi had no personal experience with them, he would allow it.
The point was whether there was room for extenuating circumstances.
However, there were cases in the world where there seemed to be no reason for consideration.
*
“Oha-Numbers, everyone listening! Today’s stream is a troubled Dungeon Raid by a world-reforming Streamer!”
“Nice to meet you all!”
“Kyahaha, I’ll do my best too~☆”
Two train rides from his home, in a quiet residential area.
When Kageichi showed his face at the client’s house—
A very conspicuous trio was holding up recorders, posing with exaggerated axes and rapiers.
Apparently, they were Dungeon Streamers…
Kageichi reconfirmed the address on his smartphone.
However, they were clearly standing in front of the house where Kageichi was about to visit, and the flustered old man at the entrance was exactly the same as the client’s photo.
“Hey… I didn’t ask you guys to do any work…”
“No, no, Grandpa. A Dungeon appeared in your garden, right? That’s very worrying, unreasonable, and unfair. So we’re going to take care of it for you now. It’s only unfair to us, and it’s a good deal for you, right?”
“But, I properly requested the work from…”
“Huh!? What are you saying, old man!”
Following the hero-like young man, a tanned warrior-like man raised his voice.
Thud!
He slammed the handle of his axe into the garden and puffed out his chest proudly in his armor.
“The future of Japan is in danger!”
“…Huh?”
“How many Japanese people have suffered because Dungeon Gates were left unattended? What are you going to do if your negligence with that Gate causes trouble for your neighbors!!!? Huh!?!?!”
“B-But, I’m already asking a professional… Besides, the Dungeon only appeared last night…”
“You’re an old geezer with not much time left, so it’s fine for you, but what if a neighborhood kid gets caught up in it!? Huh!? Can you take responsibility, old man!?! Aren’t old fogeys like you ruining Japan!? That’s why we ‘The Numbers’ are going to take care of it for you instead!”
The large man shouted with such force that it threatened to rupture Kageichi’s eardrums as he eavesdropped.
Following that man, a magical gal-like girl winked at the camera with a grin.
“So, leave it to us? Okay? Oh, we’ll get paid properly later. We’re allies of justice, after all.”
“B-But, the payment…”
“Eh. What, don’t old men these days even have a word of gratitude? Hmm, what a problem~”
The gal-mage tapped the ground with the tip of her seemingly-made-of-oak staff.
“Grandpa’s house is pretty old, isn’t it? You’re living off a couple’s pension, and you don’t have anywhere else to go, right? Fires are scary~”
“Eh…”
“Well, leave it to us, the allies of justice, okay? Now, let’s stream, stream~”
Ignoring the stunned old man, the three quickly raised their recorders again and smiled.
They were what were called “Dungeon Streamers.”
Recently, there were “Dungeon Meal Channels” that cooked in Dungeons, and “Dungeon Researchers” who unraveled the ecology of Monsters.
Sometimes, they even formed teams with cute female members and created content like “Dungeon Raid Streamers” who raided Dungeons in an entertaining way, which was said to be very popular nationwide.
–However.
As a prerequisite, Streamers could only operate in Government-Approved Dungeons.
For other Dungeons, Dungeon Raids themselves were illegal unless they possessed a Hunter License, and even if they had a license, they could not enter without receiving a formal request.
In plain terms, they were–
So-called self-proclaimed world reformers, in other words, the Dungeon version of nuisance Streamers.
“Okay, now leave the rest to us Numbers. Come on everyone, let’s protect the peace of Japan today too!”
The blonde man, who seemed to be the leader, called out and raised his rapier.
Apparently, they were trying to raid the Dungeon that Kageichi had been asked to clean, without permission…
Kageichi passed by them and bowed to the bewildered old man.
“Excuse me. Nice to meet you. I am Kageichi Futsuu, a Cleaner. Thank you very much for your request this time.”
“Ah, ah! Kageichi-san, you’ve come. I’m Hayama, the client. So, um…”
“You requested the cleaning of this Dungeon, is that correct?”
“Huh!? Who the hell are you!?”
At the man’s loud voice, Kageichi looked at the trio again.
The leader was a refreshing young man with blonde hair.
He was dressed in trendy equipment that arranged RPG-style traveler’s clothes, with a rapier at his waist and a hero’s outfit that looked good on stream–he looked like he was made for streaming.
Next to him was a tanned, large warrior over one hundred and eighty centimeters tall.
He was a burly man with a thick armor and a giant battle axe as tall as he was, and he was also the man who had just given Kageichi a hard time.
Finally, there was a blonde gal-like woman wearing a triangular hat.
She had a revealing witch-like costume and distorted silver nails. Her grin, which seemed to make fun of people, clearly looked down on others.
(This woman is the most dangerous.)
Keeping that in the back of his mind, Kageichi bowed to them.
“Nice to meet you. I am Kageichi Futsuu. I am a freelance Hunter who works as a Dungeon Cleaner.”
“Hah, then too bad for you. We Numbers are going to raid this Dungeon now!”
“I don’t mind.”
“Huh?”
“My job is to defeat the Monsters in the Dungeon and close the Gate. I don’t care if a third party does that process.”
In particular, he didn’t care who took on the job, as long as the results were achieved.
However, he didn’t think they could do the same job as a professional.
“However, I am the one who received the formal request for the Dungeon Raid. Therefore, you cannot charge the client for the reward. Of course, if you say that you will cooperate with me in exterminating the Monsters, I will consider the reward–”
“Shut up!”
The large man slammed his axe down and got angry.
“Don’t get in the way, old man! You must be a rookie Cleaner, right? That’s why amateurs are a pain. There’s a dangerous Gate here now, do you understand?”
“Come on, come on, amateurs will get hurt, you know? Or do you want to get hurt?”
Following the large man, even the gal-mage put her staff on her shoulder and threatened him.
He thought about burning them, but they were streaming and the client was watching. He couldn’t do anything that would make him look bad.
As Kageichi groaned, the blonde man, who seemed to be the leader, smiled refreshingly.
“My friend was rude. Keichi-san… was it? Then, why don’t you raid it with us?”
“Oh?”
“Actually, I took a quick look at the entrance, and this Dungeon seems to be divided into two directions right from the start. We’ll take one side, and you can take the other. That would be fair, right?”
“I don’t mind, but what about the reward?”
“We can decide that after seeing the results of the Monster extermination, right? If we thoroughly defeat them and you run away in a panic–but still get a share of the reward, that would be unfair, right?”
“Understood. Of course, in the opposite case, if you run away, I will receive the reward.”
“…What?”
“I have recorded the conversation, so please do not break your promise.”
Kageichi bowed slightly, averted his gaze, and bowed again to the client, old man Hayama.
“Then, Hayama-sama. I will get to work right away. …Before that, was it a coincidence that they came to this house this time?”
“W-Well. Actually, I uploaded a picture of the Gate on the internet to consult about the Dungeon…”
I see. A Dungeon Gate appeared in his house, and he was identified and confronted after uploading it to SNS for consultation.
It was a common tactic for nuisance types. The client probably didn’t have malicious intent, but he was careless.
“I didn’t think it would come to this… There’s a high school nearby where my grandson goes. I thought something might happen…”
“No. But please be careful in the future. Not everyone will treat you with good intentions. Also, if you have any problems with the Gate in the future, please contact the Labyrinth Agency’s dedicated dial, #889110, to the Dungeon Safety Division.”
It wasn’t within the scope of the Cleaner’s job, but he gave aftercare just in case.
It might lead to the next request, and simply helping people in need felt good.
“Hey, hey, you’re ignoring us and talking to the old man, you’re so relaxed?”
“Competing with us, lol. I don’t know if you’ll have an accident in the Dungeon~☆”
“What are you talking about, a match? I was merely making arrangements to carry out the task efficiently.”
“Tch… What an irritating guy. Let’s have a go before the Dungeon—”
The large man cracked his knuckles ostentatiously.
Kageichi smoothly passed by him, at a speed they couldn’t even see.
“Huh…?”
“Well then, excuse me. I’ll take the left side.”
Ignoring them, Kageichi quickly stepped into the Dungeon.
As soon as he passed through the entrance, he found himself in a Dungeon covered in a dense, lush forest.
The “Forest” stage.
The motif this time seemed to be the South American rainforest, and it was often a stronghold for insect and plant-type Monsters.
They weren’t particularly strong, but this Dungeon was known for having many troublesome types of Monsters.
Even so, Kageichi’s job remained the same.
It would be good if he wasn’t disturbed.
And if someone were to interfere with his work, he would simply eliminate the source of the trouble.
“Just like always,” Kageichi thought, as he began to navigate the forest labyrinth, careful of the roots spreading across the ground.