Saitou Megumi had always had a vague sense that she wasn’t cut out to be an explorer, but after the last expedition, that doubt had turned into certainty.

She knew she had more talent as an explorer than the average person. That was why she had been able to meet the members of Anthem in the first place. Thanks to that, she thought she had managed to pull her weight until now, and objectively speaking, that was probably true—but this was as far as she could go.

She couldn’t move forward any further.

Even so, when it came to whether she would quit being an explorer, the truth was that she couldn’t bring herself to nod or shake her head. Because her mana affinity had been too high, she hadn’t been able to live a normal student life; she had been transferred into an explorer training school on the government’s dime, where she repeated training and dungeon exploration until reaching adulthood. She was aware that, as a result, she had grown up somewhat sheltered from the wider world.

At this point, it would be difficult for her to live without being involved with dungeons at all.

And besides—the streaming wasn’t something she disliked.

“Hello there! This is Saitou Megumi from Anthem. Today might surprise a lot of you, but we’re at the Kamioka Dungeon—the very one where we went through a terrible experience just the other day.”

As usual, she smiled toward the streaming camera held by Shinguu Sanagi, then took a single step to the side, making sure the dungeon entrance was centered in the frame.

“It’s started!”

“Morning, Anthem!”

“Morning, Megu-tan!”

“You’re diving Kamioka Dungeon? For real?”

The moment the stream began, the viewer count shot past ten thousand, and the chat started scrolling at a furious pace. Megumi checked the PAD attached to her arm for reading comments and thought through the flow of the broadcast. After more than two years of activity, this was all familiar territory.

“For real, real, really real. I know everyone’s got their own thoughts about it, but we’ll explain everything properly. First up, let’s introduce the members.”

Kagurazaka Chizuru, the katana user. Midou Airi, the healing mage. And Megumi herself. Up to this point, it was the same lineup as last time, but when they introduced the S-rank explorer Irselia, the chat exploded with excitement.

“Ii-chan! You’re here? That’s rare!”

“She flew in on a private jet, that elf, lol.”

“She’s such a fun woman on social media.”

“Boss, please take care of the team!”

“Shut up already. I’ll protect Megumi and the others whether you tell me to or not. Leave it to me.”

Irselia, who was quite shamelessly checking the comments herself, narrowed her eyes at the camera when it was pointed her way and said as much.

One way or another, it seemed she’d grown fond of streaming culture too.

“As expected! Super reliable, Ii-chan!”

“Thank you so much!”

“You can insult us more if you want.”

“There are nutrients you can only get from a tsundere elf.”

“I want to feed her lots.”

“I want to correct her, lots.”

“And this time, as special guests, we’ve asked these two to come along with us. You all might actually know more about them than we do. ‘Worksite bro,’ also known as Tooru-san, and Tia, the dragon-slaying swordswoman! They’re the benefactors who saved us!”

“Wha!?”

“Uoooo, it’s worksite bro!”

“He’s not in work clothes, lol!”

“Tia-tan hnnngh.”

“What kind of deal did you make?”

“I know there’s a lot you’re curious about, but let’s talk about that while we explore, okay? Also, I think some of you might be wondering about this too, but this expedition has nothing to do with a request from City S. We’re exploring under direct instructions from the Dungeon Agency… I guess that’s how to put it?”

“City S, currently getting roasted nonstop after that stream.”

“So Anthem finally cut ties with City S.”

“Still, dungeon drops benefiting City S kinda sucks…”

Just as Megumi had expected, her comment sent the chat flowing in a very predictable direction.

“Oh, by the way, since this expedition is mainly investigative in nature, things like magic cores and rare drops will be submitted directly to the Dungeon Agency.”

“Oooh, I see.”

“They’re actually pretty mad, lol.”

“Serves them right.”

“So City S doesn’t get a single cent out of this.”

“But the dungeon really has mutated, so an investigation is necessary. As of yesterday, there were already people online mentioning something about Dungeon Stampede. If someone explores and sees that it’s on the verge of going out of control, then we explorers have to defeat the monsters and calm the dungeon down.”

“True.”

“That part really does rely entirely on explorers.”

“With City S barely able to handle a B-rank dungeon to begin with, there’s no way they could deal with a mutated one. This is the right call for Anthem.”

“I mean, politicians and the mayor aside, ordinary people aren’t at fault.”

“But please be careful, Megu-tan.”

“Mm, thanks. And, you know, there’s another reason we’re heading back into the dungeon so soon. Do you guys know what a ‘survivor’ is?”

That word carried a variety of meanings.

It could refer to those left behind in the wake of a suicide. People who had overcome illnesses like cancer. Victims of abuse. The idea of a “survivor” encompassed many different contexts.

For Megumi and the rest of Anthem this time, it meant something very specific: those who had encountered an irregular situation during a dungeon expedition, been driven into a corner—and still lived to tell the tale.

“A firefighter gets badly burned at a major fire, but then goes back to the scene again?”

“Like, getting back to work as soon as possible makes it less likely to turn into trauma?”

Among the flowing comments, Megumi spotted a particularly on-point ones and nodded.

“Yeah. To be honest, we’re really scared going into this expedition too. But since we’re operating with government support, we can’t just quit without even trying again, can we? And if we did, I wouldn’t be able to chat with all of you like this anymore.”

“Megu-tan……”

“Don’t push yourself.”

“I’m tearing up.”

“That’s my wife for you.”

“Who are you calling your wife?! Anyway—that’s why we asked Irselia to come along this time. And also worksite bro—Tooru-san—and Tia, the dragon-slayer. As an A-rank explorer clan, it kind of makes us look pretty pathetic, though.”

“I see.”

“Better than risking your lives on a retry.”

“For explorers, being able to keep going is everything.”

“But didn’t Bro not have a license?”

“Gonna have Anthem buy the loot and just hand him the cash again?”

“No, you can’t deliberately take someone without a license into a dungeon. That’d be illegal. I don’t think Anthem would do that. If they’re a minor, you can apply with consent and a guardian, but… worksite bro is an adult, right?”

There were a few comments along the lines of “that’s pathetic,” just as she’d braced herself for—but surprisingly few. She knew that Anthem, trained with government funds—tax money, in other words—and meant to give back to the public, might reasonably be criticized for not being able to get back on their feet on their own. Especially for relying on Hayasaka Tooru, who hadn’t even had a license.

Probably—the one who felt it was pathetic was Megumi herself.

Because she understood that about herself, she didn’t want to be told so.

And yet… maybe she wanted to hear it anyway.

“Right, yeah. I don’t know how many of you already know this, but Tooru-san used to work as a cleaner in a D-rank dungeon. He accidentally stepped on a teleport trap, ended up in a hidden room, and picked up two swords. And then—like you all saw—they instantly killed the dragon and the black knight that we were struggling with… or rather, about to lose to.”

“That’s clearly not D-rank-level behavior, lol.”

“Also, isn’t Bro carrying something? Not that cursed sword.”

“Tia-chan keeps glancing at the camera now and then, so cute.”

“The way she smiles and waves is insanely cute.”

“Even as a Chizuru fan, I can’t resist this.”

“So, we went directly to the Dungeon Agency and asked them to issue Tooru-san a provisional license. Telling people who can instantly kill a dragon and a black knight that they can’t enter a dungeon just because they don’t have a license—that would go against the public good, right? And this situation might be pretty urgent too.”

“Abusing authority, let’s gooo!”

“As expected of a national project.”

“This isn’t the usual tax-money leeching.”

“Okay, okay. Like always, let’s just ignore political comments. All right then—let’s head into the mutated Kamioka Dungeon!”

◇◇◇

As long as a dungeon wasn’t an uncharted area, maps existed for it.

That was because pioneers always created them. Explorers weren’t competing with one another the way fantasy fiction often depicted; they operated in a cooperative relationship. Sharing information could directly save other explorers’ lives. Conversely, withholding information was tantamount to killing others.

In a modern, information-driven society, such secrecy was nothing more than an act of self-strangulation. Since dungeons were managed by the state, the records of the pioneers were always preserved. That meant there was always the possibility of being suspected of having concealed information, so explorers were extremely careful to provide data to the local dungeon branch. Even those who didn’t stream often brought cameras with them to record their runs.

No one wanted to be torn apart online. All the more so if that reputation could interfere with their work.

Setting that aside, for a clan with rear support like Anthem, it was only natural that dungeon maps were constantly cross-referenced with their current position in real time, with feedback sent directly to the explorers.

Of course, the data had been delivered to Megumi’s terminal as well, but the one primarily handling that support was the healing mage, Midou Airi.

“Hm… the upper levels look more or less the same as the map for now. Same as last time.”

After receiving Airi’s report, Megumi murmured an update for the viewers.

Collective wisdom was nothing to scoff at; sometimes ideas came from the audience that Megumi and the others would never have thought of on their own.

“By the way, isn’t it about time we talked to worksite bro?”

“Agreed. Let’s interview Bro.”

“Let’s hear from Tia-chan too.”

That said, collective wisdom wasn’t always helpful. Like this, there were times when the viewers unified around a single direction, and deciding whether to go along with it or stop the flow was part of a streamer’s required handling.

“Hmmm… yeah, I guess we can ask them some questions while we’re still on the upper floors. But we won’t pry into private stuff or anything that’s off-limits, okay?”

She added that caveat, then beckoned with a small gesture toward Hayasaka Tooru, who was walking behind Sanagi, out of the camera’s view.

She’d heard that he’d had some kind of disagreement with Manager Nanami and Irselia before setting out, so to be honest, Megumi felt a bit reluctant about talking with Hayasaka Tooru at length. Neither Nanami nor Irselia had told her what the argument was about, and neither Hayasaka Tooru nor Tia, the holy sword wielder, had said anything either. When Megumi and the co had come down to the lobby to greet them, Hayasaka Tooru had seemed curt, but not irritated.

Still, what bothered her was that Chizuru—who had apparently been looking forward to calmly talking with the “cursed sword wielder”—had gone down to the lobby ahead of everyone else, yet had barely spoken with Hayasaka Tooru… or perhaps hadn’t been able to speak with him at all.

Chizuru was usually easygoing and outspoken, but with Hayasaka Tooru she’d seemed oddly hesitant, which concerned Megumi as well.

He was their benefactor. More than that, he was their lifesaver.

Megumi understood that, and she was grateful.

But he was also the kind of person she’d never dealt with before.

Put simply, she didn’t know how to interact with him.

It was a side effect of having transferred into an explorer training school in middle school and living with almost no contact with the “outside” world after that. She’d gained strength as an explorer, but she felt as though something like an inner core hadn’t developed—and that was probably just the truth.

In the end, she was still that wounded child who’d been treated like a monster back then…

No—none of that mattered right now.

Megumi gave a small shake of her head to dispel the haze in her thoughts and spoke up to Hayasaka Tooru.

“Um… first of all, thank you again for the other day. For helping us in the dungeon, and for attending the prefectural office meeting too…”

“Ah… yeah. Well, I left partway through the meeting.”

Hayasaka Tooru did at least step closer so he fit into the camera frame, responding in an extremely listless manner. She still couldn’t quite shake the delinquent-from-a-drama impression he gave off, but the complete lack of intimidation or aggression was, for Megumi, a relief.

How to put it… he felt like a quiet beast that didn’t hunt more than necessary. The kind that wouldn’t get angry if you petted it, as long as it was in the mood.

“Worksite bro, lol. Such low energy.”

“Surrounded by this lineup and that’s his vibe? Lmao.”

“Say something about being called worksite bro.”

“Haha… um, Tooru-san is fine, right? Online, the nickname ‘Worksite Bro’ has kind of stuck, but honestly, how do you feel about it?”

“Going straight for it, lol.”

“That’s your first question?!”

You’re the ones who want to hear this, she thought to herself, even as she somehow kept a smile on her face. It was probably pretty stiff, but that couldn’t be helped.

“Uh… I figure it’s because I was wearing work clothes, but I’ve never actually worked at a construction site, so I feel like it might be kind of disrespectful to the real ‘worksite bros’ I don’t even have a crane license or anything, so I’d rather leave the title of ‘worksite bro’ to someone who actually deserves it.”

To Megumi’s possibly rude question, Tooru took a moment to think, then answered her plainly. He didn’t seem to like being called worksite bro, but he didn’t seem angry about it either.

“Didn’t expect him to be so serious, lol.”

“Worksite bro isn’t even a title.”

“Guess we’ll call him Tooru then.”

“He got a provisional license, but can he actually fight monsters normally?”

“By the way, what’s that Bro’s holding? That’s not a sword, right?”

“There are some comments about monster hunting… um, like, is monster hunting okay, and what is Tooru-san holding? Stuff like that.”

Truth be told, it was something Megumi herself had been curious about ever since the parking lot near the dungeon—Tooru and Tia had followed Anthem’s van in their own car. The strange iron rod Tooru was carrying around as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“This? A blunt weapon a dwarf acquaintance made for me. It’s just rebar bundled together and welded—used to be my work tool when I was a cleaner.”

“…That really is nothing but a blunt weapon.”

Whether something like that would even work on dungeon monsters was questionable.

It was said that modern weapons—bullets, explosives, and the like—didn’t work well on dungeon monsters because the monsters were wrapped in mana. That was why swords, spears, and similar weapons that could easily carry mana were mainly used. Bullets could work if imbued with mana, but rather than crafting consumable ammunition from dungeon materials, it was more efficient to forge melee weapons with higher staying power.

The greatsword Megumi used herself had been forged by mixing monster materials into the steel. It conducted mana extremely well, was harder than iron, and supposedly had more toughness than bamboo.

By contrast—a bundle of rebar.

If you tried to strike a monster with something like that, it felt like it would bend out of shape almost immediately.

“Uh… come to think of it, mind if I try something?”

Saying it as if it had just occurred to him, Tooru pointed down the corridor ahead.

The Kamioka Dungeon was a fairly standard stone-built labyrinth. Like most dungeons, the walls, floor, and ceiling themselves gave off a faint glow, granting visibility out to roughly thirty meters.

What Tooru was pointing at lay a little farther than that.

When Megumi glanced over at Irselia—the member with the highest detection ability—the elf archer made an annoyed face, then gave a small nod.

“Then I’ll give it a shot. If it looks bad, back me up, okay?”

His tone grew more casual, probably because he was speaking to Tia. Tia gave a light nod in response and watched Tooru’s back as he started walking forward at an unhurried pace. Sanagi, filming, followed after him.

That was when they could make out what was emerging ahead: wolf-type monsters.

Two of them.

They were clearly a step above the monsters that had appeared on the upper floors last time. The mutation really was progressing. If that was the case, they needed to keep moving while defeating monsters—but still…

…Would this really be okay?

Until just the other day, he’d been a cleaner below even D-rank, without a license. Facing two demonic wolves that were probably around high C-rank. By any normal standard, it would be suicide.

There was no fear in Tooru’s back as he walked forward with the iron club slung over his shoulder, but Megumi also couldn’t sense the distinctive aura of a powerhouse.

Looking around, the only one who seemed worried like Megumi was Airi. Tia, Chizuru, and Irselia all simply watched Tooru’s back, unconcerned.

“Bro’s first real fight.”

“No, his first was the black knight.”

“He’s gonna use that blunt thing?”

“Wouldn’t the cursed sword be better?”

“Trying to show off in front of Anthem?”

“That’s not the attitude of someone trying to show off.”

“He’s just walking normally.”

“Wolf charge incoming.”

Just as the comments predicted, the two demonic wolves lowered their bodies and kicked off the ground.

The result—was anticlimactic.