Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Volume 2  Chapter 8   Research institute

_____ Koosuke Igami _____

Oh… I’ve ended up here. I really didn’t want to come.

But I guess there’s no other choice. After all, it’s related to what I asked for, so I can’t just refuse to come.

I really, really hate this.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself, and proceed through the vast premises of the imposing building in front of me.

The place is heavily guarded, with high walls that make accidental intrusion impossible. Even if someone manages to get inside, the surveillance cameras installed throughout won’t let any intruders go unnoticed.

In addition, armed security guards patrol regularly and at irregular intervals.

By taking all these precautions, it’s unlikely anyone would dare to enter, but even so, one can’t afford to let their guard down in this place.

“Hello, Mr. Saeki.”

“Ah, Mr. Igami. Thank you for coming. I apologize for the frequent trouble.”

“No, Mr. Saeki, it’s mutual. We have received a lot of help from everyone here as well, so it’s a give-and-take relationship.”

As I made my way through the rather ominous premises, a man was waiting in front of the building, smoking a cigarette.

His name was Hiroshi Saeki. If I recall correctly, he was around forty years old. He is the head of this “research institute”.

“And… I don’t want to deal with ‘that’ later if we just leave it alone.”

“Oh, ahaha… Indeed, if ‘that’ is left unattended, it would be quite troublesome for us, too.”

“It would be ideal if the trouble could be avoided.”

As we exchanged light conversation, Mr. Saeki extinguished his cigarette and placed it in a portable ashtray, tucking it into his pocket.

“Well then, shall we go? I’ll be waiting for you as usual.”

“As for me, I’d rather you not wait for me.”

And so, we proceeded into the building.

“I apologize. You must be busy lately, right?”

Once inside the building, after going through several… no, numerous procedures, we were finally able to make some progress.

It was clearly not an ordinary place, but I knew that it was necessary.

“Well, it’s alright, I suppose. It’s been easier compared to before.”

“Is that so? Well, maybe. But isn’t it challenging to work with high school girls as a team? Aside from being busy, you’ll be staying overnight with girls who could be around the same age as a daughter?”

“That’s true. The saving grace is that they won’t kick me out based on age or gender. When it’s a team with members of the opposite sex or a significant age difference, problems tend to arise.”

“And some people even get caught for that… Please don’t get caught, okay?”

“I won’t, geez…”

Even I have that much common sense.

Or rather, I have no intention of doing “those things” inside the dungeon.

Well, even outside the dungeon, I won’t attack anyone significantly younger than my niece, let alone a daughter.

Besides, if I were to forcefully try something, not that I’m saying what, but I would be crushed.

“Haha, just kidding. But judging by your reaction, have you been told the same by Watanabe-kun and the others?”

“Yes, to the point where I feel like punching them in the face.”

“I-I see. Then maybe I should stop saying anything more.”

“Yes, please do.”

We continue our casual conversation while navigating through long and intricate passages.

We make several turns to the right and left, but since the layout is the same everywhere, anyone coming here for the first time would undoubtedly get lost.

“The security is still tight as ever. I have no doubt that without a guide, it would be impossible to make progress.”

“Well, of course. Considering the purpose of this place.”

Thanks to Mr. Saeki’s presence, I can navigate smoothly. But if I were to venture alone, I would get lost, and even before getting lost, I would be stopped by the security here.

“The current perception of dungeons for everyone is that they are mazes or nests of monsters. But the original meaning of ‘dungeon’ is ‘prison.’ It’s not about rejecting intrusion from the outside but about refusing escape from the inside. If we perceive the term ‘dungeon’ in its true meaning of ‘prison’ rather than the maze that everyone currently associates with it, then the name is more fitting for this place than the world beyond the gate.”

“A place that prevents escape from within, I see.”

There are many things here that should not be let out.

Considering that, this place is indeed a kind of prison.

“Ah, yes. It’s a facility that gathers and researches things related to the gates, deviating from the ordinary path. That’s what this place is. Whether they are alive or dead, everything should not be recklessly released from here. Well, I’ve talked about this many times before, though.”

“Yes, indeed. But you seem to enjoy talking about it, don’t you? Your voice becomes livelier compared to other topics.”

“Haha, can you tell? Well, there are hardly any opportunities to talk about these things with people outside. I want to boast a little, you know.”

Naturally, the staff here are obligated to keep internal information from leaking outside.

That’s why Mr. Saeki seems to enjoy talking to me, an external person, at least in part.

I’m also involved and have various restrictions, but still, I’m an outsider.

“…But going back to what we were talking about earlier, what do you think is being confined in the depths of the dungeon, in that ‘prison’?”

“Who knows? We may or may not find out someday. And even if we do find out, we don’t even know if it’s something we should know or not.”

That’s right. It’s been quite some time since the gates appeared, but we still don’t know what happened, what they connect to, or where they lead.

What we do know is that the country that caused the gate to appear in the first place experienced a massive influx of gates, resulting in significant damage and reducing its population and economy to less than half of what they were back then.

And now, the damage caused by the gates is not limited to that country but occurring worldwide.

If there’s one positive aspect to mention, it would be that the materials available in the world beyond the gates defy conventional wisdom. The country that caused the incident had thought it would solve resource problems, at least in theory.

“Well, all we can do is patiently unravel each mystery one by one.”

“Hopefully, there won’t be destruction waiting for us at the end of those mysteries.”

“Yeah, I hope so too.”

Mr. Saeki said it jokingly, but neither I nor Mr.Saeki could genuinely laugh it off as a joke.

“…By the way, about the current team members…”

Suddenly, Mr. Saeki, who had been walking ahead of me, spoke with a slightly more serious tone, different from our previous casual conversation.

“Are you referring to Miyano?”

“That’s one of the things. But there are other things to be cautious about too.”

Upon hearing those words, I instinctively flinched and briefly stopped walking, but it was a momentary reaction, and I quickly resumed walking.

“…Did something happen? Any signs of movement?”

“The Savior’s Army, to be precise. It’s estimated that they will take action within the next month at the earliest, or within six months at the latest.”

“That’s quite a time gap.”

“Well, it’s just an estimate based on their previous actions. It’s better than not being able to make any predictions in advance.”

That’s true. It would have been troublesome if we were attacked without any prior knowledge.

“So, the aim is most likely a new ‘hero’.”

“…Miyano, huh?”

“It’s just a speculation, but a mere high-ranking individual wouldn’t be as valuable or as susceptible to being targeted as a new ‘hero.’ You understand that, don’t you?”

As Mr. Saeki mentioned, those who possess power are often targeted to some extent.

It’s not a matter of shallow political power struggles or attempts to recruit them into factions. It means being targeted in the truest sense of the word—being targeted for their ‘lives’.

“I understand. For now, I’ll prioritize developing the ability to sense danger.”

“That’s right. Yeah, that’s a good idea. We wouldn’t want the ‘hero’ to end up dead.”

“…Yes.”

Being troubled if the ‘hero’ were to die, huh?

That thought isn’t wrong. It’s not wrong, but…

In response to Mr. Saeki’s words, I could only nod silently.