[Ishigaki-jima — Ezoe Kazuhiko]
Dungeon Busters was an SME with sixty-eight employees, including both full-time and part-time employees, but its earnings were on par with large corporations. In one above ground day, the company earned around two hundred million yen, which meant over forty billion yen a year. Needless to say, a lot of this money went into paying the adventurers, feeding them, and maintaining their facilities. Dungeon Busters had a return on assets of around eight percent. For a company that had been created as the extension of a personal business, this was already more than enough benefit.
“No need to overthink the cost. Enjoy yourselves. I don’t mind spending a few hundred million on this trip,” I said.
“Ezoe-san,” General Manager Mukai cut in immediately. “Having a company trip is all right, but there is no company in Japan that would spend over one million yen per employee. Please spare a thought for me. I’m the one who’ll have to explain this spending to the tax office.”
Some adventurers became depressed or developed PTSD from the stress of being inside the dungeons. The members of Dungeon Busters were able to maintain a stable state of mind mainly thanks to the considerable amount the company spent on recreational activities for its employees. General Manager Mukai also understood this, but the civil servants he dealt with tended to operate solely on precedent and required a great deal of explanation to understand how adventurers lived. Without General Manager Mukai and his extensive knowledge—as a former bank employee, he knew as much as most tax counselors—I would have likely given up on being an adventurer ages ago.
“Mukai-san, it’s all thanks to you and the other office workers that we’re able to dive inside the dungeons without worry. Please, enjoy your time with your family.”
Many adventurers had yet to marry, but I had allowed them to bring a date anyway. Some did not have a significant other to bring while some had way too many partners to be able to pick one. Either way, I let all of them individually decide how to handle things.
What about me then? Well, I was alone, obviously. I planned to surprise Vice-Minister Ishihara and bring her here for a while, but because of her position, she couldn’t openly come to Ishigaki-jima. Once we reached the hotel, I intended to go get her with my teleportation skill so she could enjoy the beach. If she were to be found out, it might turn into an issue, but as long as she didn’t leave a trail, there would be no problem.
“Thank you for choosing our hotel for your stay once again, Ezoe-sama,” the manager of the Ishigaki Grand Continental Resort Hotel greeted us as we entered the hotel.
We were a big group of around a hundred, including family members and others. On top of that, we had already visited this same hotel earlier this year in March. We’d spent a lot when factoring in the rooms, food, and services such as massages that had been recommended, so the hotel must’ve considered us very important customers.
“So... Why the hell did you guys bring so much stuff, Mutsuo?” I asked.
It seemed Mutsuo and his friends had sent their luggage over in advance, and I could see some electronic equipment piled up.
“We brought cameras and computers to shoot and edit videos. I had to make sure we could handle 4K video editing, so they’re equipped with the best graphic cards on the market and have 64 GB of RAM.”
“Why would you need that?” I asked after a pause.
“To film our vacation in Ishigaki-jima and upload it, obviously! Mari-shi has been incredibly popular lately, so if we put out a video of her in a swimsuit, we may just reach ten million vie—”
He stopped abruptly, probably sensing the killing intent oozing from behind him. Mutsuo nervously looked behind him. Mari glared at him, arms crossed. She was a D-Ranker, fairly close to Rank C. To put it bluntly, she was a thousand times stronger than Mutsuo.
“You’re gonna have to get on your knees and beg Mari and Shingo if you really want that footage,” I said with a sarcastic laugh, patting Mutsuo’s shoulder.
Birds of a feather flock together. True to the saying, the IT department of the Busters was a gathering of otaku. I hadn’t really complained about it since they got the job done and helped create a relaxed atmosphere, but General Manager Mukai seemed to handle them like a bunch of problem children.
“Let’s gather for a barbecue on the beach tonight. After that, you’re all free to enjoy your time as you see fit. Ishigaki’s shopping center, Misakicho, is right here if you take a taxi.”
I stepped into my room and materialized Akane. I’d call Emily and the others before the barbecue. I assumed Emily would probably stick with Mari and enjoy Ishigaki-jima after that. As for Senyath... Well, I couldn’t really allow it to walk around.
Akane was already wearing clothes appropriate for a southern island vacation. In fact, she was more or less wearing a swimsuit. It was all right for her to be dressed like that in front of me, but it would be a bit much for other men to see. I draped a shawl over her shoulders and watched it droop.
“It’s 2 p.m... We still have four hours...”
I carried her to the bed and pushed her down.
＊ ＊ ＊
We had rented out a corner of the private beach and set up several portable stoves. We had prepared enough food for three hundred people, mainly grade 2 and 3 Ishigaki beef but there was also fish and plenty of vegetables.
Everyone held up their glasses.
“To the successful Olympics and the future of Dungeon Busters... CHEERS!”