After being escorted out of the hotel by the black-clad staff and driven away in a luxury black car, it took us roughly fifteen minutes to reach our destination.
We had arrived at Guild Headquarters.
“Whoa… Guild Headquarters is huge.”
The car hadn’t stopped at the main entrance, but rather at a rear entrance reserved exclusively for Guild executives and officials. The moment I stepped out, I tilted my head back and stared up at the ridiculously enormous skyscraper, my mouth hanging open.
I guess this is an expected reaction. This is my first time here after all.
The building is so tall that I couldn’t even see the top when standing directly beneath it.
How much money had they spent building this thing?
I couldn’t even begin to imagine.
“This is actually my first time entering Guild Headquarters through anything other than the main entrance.”
Mina-chan stepped out of the car after me, looking slightly tense. Apparently, even veteran explorers rarely had any reason to use the back entrance of Guild Headquarters.
“This is the VIP entrance, right? Kinda exciting!”
Satsuki-chan followed.
Unlike Mina-chan, she seemed pretty carefree about it. But apparently, this is her first time seeing the rear entrance as well. She looked around curiously, turning her head from side to side as she took in the surroundings.
“Stay alert. We’re not here on vacation.”
“SHAAAAAAAAAA!”
Shion was the last to step out, Ryunosuke-kun cradled in her arms.
And with that, all five of us had assembled in front of the rear entrance to Guild Headquarters.
“You’re all here. Excellent. Please, follow me.”
Once again, we were escorted through the rear entrance of Guild Headquarters by the men and women in black.
We proceeded down a dimly lit corridor that nevertheless radiated an unmistakable air of luxury. After a short walk, the black-clad escort leading us stopped in front of a set of doors that were obviously elevator doors.
He immediately pressed the button to go up, and the mechanical doors slowly slid open.
“This elevator is configured to go directly to the Chairman’s office. You will not encounter any other Guild employees or explorers along the way, so please rest assured.”
The escort held the elevator doors open and gestured for us to step inside. They’d clearly gone to great lengths to accommodate us.
I had to admit, I was genuinely impressed by how carefully Yuda-san had arranged everything.
Maybe he was our enemy. But from the moment we left the Funeral Rank dungeon until now, not once had we been treated unpleasantly. Maybe this was all part of some elaborate scheme to lull us into lowering our guard.
Even so, I couldn’t say I disliked it.
“Thanks for everything, Black Suit-san!”
“Huh? Oh, uh… It’s nothing. It’s just my job…”
The escort didn’t board the elevator with us. Only the five of us entered the lift, heading straight for the Chairman’s office on the top floor.
“Why did you thank him, Daishi-san?”
“Eh? I dunno. Just felt like it.”
“What an incredibly fast elevator. We’re almost there.”
The sensation of upward acceleration gradually weakened as we approached the top floor.
Then, with a rather silly little “ding-dong” sound, the elevator came to a stop.
The doors quietly slid open.
“Whoa! This place sure is huge!”
The moment the elevator doors opened, my entire field of vision cleared. I could see almost the whole room at a glance, and it immediately became obvious that this was a massive executive conference room.
A gigantic table and a series of imposing chairs were arranged in perfect order, giving the entire place an unmistakable air of authority.
And at the very far end of the room sat a single man, lounging comfortably in a chair that looked more like a throne.
With a pleasant smile, he spoke to us.
“Hello. I’m glad you came, Daishi Ajiri… and all of you as well.”
“Y-You’re…”
“Yes. My name is Yuda Kagami. I serve as the representative of the Far Eastern Headquarters of the Japan Dungeon Association.”
With that, Yuda-san stood and slowly walked toward us, approaching the elevator where we were gathered. As he drew closer, his appearance and stature gradually came into sharper focus.
His age was… Hmm. He looked young, yet there was something about him that suggested considerable experience. It was difficult to tell.
His voice was fairly high, too. If someone had told me it belonged to a woman, I probably would have believed them. He was about as tall as Mina, which was rather short for a man. His build was slender and graceful. His blond hair fell to his shoulders in a medium-length style. Large red eyes, a finely shaped nose, small lips painted with pale pink lipstick…
Wait. Hold on.
Could Yuda actually be…
“You’re… a woman?”
“Daishi Ajiri. In this day and age, I recommend refraining from making assumptions about another person’s gender. It isn’t particularly important.”
For just a moment, I thought I saw a hint of anger in Yuda-san’s expression.
Apparently, gender was a taboo subject here.
“Hahaha. Well, never mind. Come on, sit wherever you like. And don’t worry about how unnecessarily enormous this room is.”
Yuda-san spread both arms, making a slightly exaggerated gesture as they invited us to take our seats.
Even so, the situation remained what it was. The supreme leader of our supposed enemy was sitting right in front of us.
There was no way I could let my guard down.
“How about something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Just tell me what you like, and I’ll have it brought in immediately.”
“We don’t need anything to drink. I’d rather we get straight to the point.”
“You’re rather impatient, Daishi Ajiri. Surely you can indulge me in a cup of tea. It’s our first meeting, after all. The coffee and tea here at Headquarters are excellent.”
“Then I want royal milk tea!”
“I’ll have coffee. And milk for Ryunosuke.”
“You guys really have zero sense of tension, don’t you? Water is fine for me.”
I suddenly felt embarrassed, like I was the only one freaking out over this. My companions had already begun taking their seats and ordering drinks without a care in the world.
“Heh. Your companions certainly have nerves of steel. That’s reassuring. Daishi, coffee for you?”
“Ah, um… Sure. I’ll have that.”
Unable to go against the flow, I ordered coffee.
Yuda-san picked up the intercom handset mounted on the wall and instructed someone to bring our drinks to the chairman’s office.
“Well then. While we wait for the drinks, why don’t I at least explain why I invited all of you here today?”
Once Yuda-san and I had taken our seats, they suddenly got straight to the point. Despite everything, we were finally getting down to business, and I could feel myself growing a little tense.
Why had Guild Headquarters summoned us here?
What, exactly, did they want?
“Well, to put it simply, the world is currently on the verge of destruction because of the existence of dungeons. So, we’d like you to cooperate with us in our Great Dungeon Eradication Operation.”
“““…Haaaaah?!”””
All of us voiced the exact same bewildered “Haaaaah?!” at precisely the same time.
The Great Dungeon Eradication Operation?!
…Yeah, right. That’s definitely not something you could explain by simply saying, “To put it simply.”
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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