Chapter 47

After finishing our shopping, we headed to the location Hime had designated.

The first floor has cafes and is frequented by relatively young people, but the elevator hall is filled with salarymen in suits, making us feel out of place.

Should I come next time in the suit I had tailored for my brother's wedding?

"---This is it, right?"

Using the ID card Hime had sent in advance, we unlocked the door and went inside.

It was an unusually tidy office.

There were five desks.

Four in the front, one in the back.

One of the front desks had a computer, documents, and a phone, indicating that someone was using it, but the others seemed unused.

There were also whiteboards and bookshelves.

Hime, who had been sitting in the back, stood up.

"Taira, Ayame, thank you for coming. Welcome to our unparalleled office. Your desks are here and there."

"Nice office. It must be pretty expensive. How much is the rent?"

"Ask about the rent right away? It's fine... roughly this much."

Hime typed some numbers into a calculator.

"Is it that cheap?"

It was less than one-tenth of what I had imagined.

No way, that can't be right.

It can't be in dollars, right? That would be too expensive.

"Let me clarify, that's the rent per tsubo."

"Right...? How many tsubo is this place?"

"It's small. Only 30 tsubo."

...30 tsubo... that means... wow, more than twice what I imagined.

"Ano, Oshino-san. We always go to the Tenshibadan Dungeon, so why did you rent an office in Umeda?"

"Good question. To improve the branding of EPO Corporation and because there are more business opportunities. We're all students, so it's hard to trust us with important work. But having an office in a prime location in Umeda builds trust."

"Is that how it works? I didn't think trust was necessary for dungeon diving."

"There are limits to working individually. The enemies of explorers aren't just monsters."

Enemies other than monsters.

In other words, systems, laws, and the state.

I just want to enjoy dungeon exploration.

I was curious about the rent and the reason for renting an office in Umeda, but what I was more curious about was the number of desks.

"By the way, whose desk is that? It's not yours, right?"

"Ah, that's—"

Just as Hime was about to speak, someone came in.

...What?

"Mr. Ako?"

It was Mr. Ako.

Huh? Didn't he go back to Tokyo?

When Mr. Ako saw us, he bowed and said,

"Nice to meet you. You must be Mr. Oshino and Mr. Azuma? I've heard about you from the young lady."

Mr. Ako, as always, gave a polite response, but "nice to meet you"?

Also, he called me "Mr. Oshino."

"My name is Ako Shousuke. My sister was recently in your care, thank you."

"Sister?"

"She is Ako Kimiyo's younger sister, Ako Shousuke. She has been supporting me for a long time. She handles various document-related tasks."

"Mr. Ako's sister!?"

Identical twins, right?

Can they be this similar?

The only difference is the color of their suits; otherwise, they look like the same person.

"You're twins?"

"No, Kimiyo and I are not twins."

"Really? You look so alike."

"Yes, we are sextuplets."

Sextuplets!?

So, not just two, but all six have the same face.

It would be harder than a puzzle at S〇ZERIA.

"Hime, how did you tell Kimiyo apart so quickly when you met her?"

"I'll probably confuse Shousuke for Kimiyo the next time I see her."

"I won't. When I lived in America, Shousuke and the others were almost the only Japanese friends I had. I naturally learned to tell them apart."

Childhood friends.

You and Milk had a similar relationship.

With such a long history, it's no wonder you can tell the faces apart.

"Were you with Hime too?"

"Yes. Hime and I are only one year apart, so we had a relationship like childhood friends and sisters."

"Considering that, you two don't get along well."

"Being close can also make you annoyed."

A complicated relationship.

And the other four Ako siblings, where are they and what are they doing?

"So, what is this office for?"

"EPO Corporation sometimes takes jobs from the government. This office handles the reception of those jobs, accounting, and other administrative tasks."

"What about storage?"

"We rent a separate place for that. There are security issues if no one is around during the day, and there's no need for the storage to be in Umeda."

That makes sense.

"Also, here are your business cards, Taira and Ayame."

Wow, business cards. I want to complain about the company logo being a shuriken, but getting my first business card in my life is a bit exciting.

"Is my position a director?"

"I'm also a director..."

"We founded the corporation with three people. I'm the president, Ako is the secretary, and when Milk joins, she will be the vice president. There's also a supervisor, though they're not here."

"Supervisor?"

"Someone who audits us. It's necessary for EPO Corporation. I'll introduce them to you later."

Running a company is tough.

"Don't worry about the details. Leave them to Ako."

"Yes, I'll take care of it. Mr. Oshino, Mr. Azuma, and Miss Hime, I'll handle all the back-office tasks so you can focus on dungeon exploration."

Ako and his sister are reliable.

With her around, I don't have to worry.

"So, about the job from the government, Mr. Oshino, I'd like you to start on this."

"Eh? Already a job?"

"Yes. I've selected a suitable job from the government's requests. It's the first job from the government, so please don't fail."

A job request right away.

The location is... ah, the Ishibutai Dungeon is the main one, but there are other dungeons listed where you can get the items.

The item to collect is a magatama. Ah, the one dropped by Haniwa.

...What? 1000 magatama?

"Mr. Ako, isn't that too much?"

"There's plenty of time, and I believe Mr. Oshino can achieve it."

Ako, you seem capable, but are you the type who produces workaholics?

"Can we collect them outside of dungeons?"

"Yes, as long as you can gather the required number. However, the government has already bought out the magatama from stores and auction sites, so you can't get them from there."

Alright, then I'll gather them in PD.

"Mr. Oshino, are you okay? I'll help you."

"No, I'm fine. I have connections, so I'll gather them within the deadline."

"Taira really has mysterious connections. Ako, don't investigate how Taira gathers items. If Taira does something strange, just let it go."

"Understood. Also, regarding the blacksmiths—70% of the registered freelance blacksmiths in the country have been contacted, but we couldn't hire anyone who meets the employment conditions. We may need to poach from other companies or find unregistered blacksmiths."

Awakened individuals are required to register with the government.

Ayame and Milk are registered.

However, I've heard that some blacksmiths avoid registration to avoid getting involved in dangerous situations.

That's what he's talking about.

But it's difficult to find someone who hides being a blacksmith.

They can dye their hair and be unrecognizable.

"...Right. Let's wait on poaching from other companies. We don't want to make more enemies right now. Please find unregistered blacksmiths."

We don't have much trust beyond the Oshino Group's backing.

We want to avoid making enemies in this state.

No matter how high our luck value is, we can't control who we meet.

We can only rely on Ako and Hime.

Since today was just a tour of the office, we disbanded after that.

"Hime, I bought this at the store. Here you go."

I said that and threw the D-can.

For some reason, Ayame was disappointed, saying, "Did you buy one for Mr. Oshino too?"

"D-can? I've never seen one opened."

Hime tapped the D-can.

"Mr. Oshino! The can is glowing!"

"Eh? What? What's happening?"

The D-can started to shine and opened with a pop.

It's a familiar sight to me, but apparently not to Hime and Ayame.

They were quite excited.

"Hime, what's inside?"

"Um... an earring, I think."

The earring had a blue gem.

It looked quite expensive.

"Taira, can you appraise it?"

"Sure. Let me appraise it... It's the Gale Earring. It increases agility by 10% for one and 20% for both."

"20% agility... that's a powerful effect. It's not legendary, but it's top-tier equipment. How much would it sell for?"

"Are you going to sell it?"

"Of course, we'll use it! Thank you, Taira. It's the best gift ever!"

Hime immediately equipped the Gale Earrings and said.

I always get help from Hime.

It feels good to be able to return a favor.