Chapter 75
Dungeon Foundation.
Today, the Foundation has many roles, but the oldest and most important among them is undoubtedly the containment and conquest of dungeons.
From a vast pool of candidates, those with the aptitude for exploration are selected, sent into the dungeons, made to fight, and tasked with resource extraction and dungeon boss conquest.
The Dungeon Foundation always welcomes warriors who challenge the labyrinths of the unknown and the mysterious.
Being an explorer is dangerous, but the rewards are ones you can't get without becoming one.
Dreams and romance, or livelihood and reality.
What burdens they bear, what they seek in the labyrinth—it all depends on the explorer.
In the case of today's S-rank explorer, "Catania's Dust" Shirokko, that was money.
He was born in Italy.
Italy is a republic with Rome as its capital, bordered by Switzerland and Austria to the north, France to the west, and Slovenia to the east.
Shirokko's childhood was not a fortunate one.
By the time he was old enough to understand, his father had disappeared, and his mother would go out every night leaving young Shirokko behind, returning to the apartment each time with a different man.
His only friends were the stray cats that came to play on the apartment balcony.
He poured his affection into the stray cats, spending much of his boyhood with them.
Though the cats eventually vanished one by one, they taught him the value of love for important things and the importance of treasuring companions.
In his youth, he was a street punk, but gradually leaned into the mafia, eventually dealing in drugs after starting with petty crimes.
He needed money.
That's because he needed a large amount of money to cure the illness of the grandmother who rescued him from his mother.
Her illness originated from a dungeon—a rare and bizarre disease caused by microorganisms from a system different from this world's.
He dirtied his hands in a shady trade, rose to the rank of boss, and became a big shot who could move vast sums with a snap of his fingers. But they couldn't identify the cause of her illness. Her condition only worsened.
Shirokko moved his grandmother from a small-town hospital in Sicily to a cutting-edge French hospital affiliated with the Dungeon Foundation.
She did wonder how a woman like her, just an old hag near death, could be admitted to such a hospital by her own grandson, and where that power—money—came from, but she didn't ask much.
She only asked once.
"Are you living with your head held high?"
That was the moment doubt was born in Shirokko's heart.
At the same time, a girl appeared before him.
She said nothing, only handed him an envelope.
That was the moment when he and his crew washed their hands of their former business.
He became an explorer, and to discover a cure with his own feet, he worked with the medical science team at the EU Dungeon Foundation's hospital and challenged dungeons around the world.
He even gathered explorers from among his family, forming an explorer family affiliated with the Dungeon Foundation, twenty-two members in total.
This explorer family became famous along the Mediterranean coast and into Eastern Europe, known as the "Scorching Wind of Sicily."
Although there are other private organizations that systematize explorer operations like a company, the "Scorching Wind of Sicily" was the first to openly treat dungeon work as a business despite being former mafia.
The "Scorching Wind of Sicily" worked with great vigor.
No research funds were allocated just for Shirokko's grandmother, the world's only patient of the mysterious disease.
So they invested a total of 150 million euros over five years.
But they were too late.
Everything came to nothing.
With her death.
Afterward, Shirokko, the leader, and the "Scorching Wind of Sicily" vanished from the public eye.
The last sighting was of a sorrowful man's back as he visited the grave of his deceased grandmother.
————
——Akagi Hideo's Perspective
Finger Man blocked the path of Shirokko and Dr. Shita Chichigasky.
"Fou-und—you."
"S-Shirokko!"
Shirokko slowly pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
He inhaled deeply. The tip of the cigarette glowed red with heat—szzzt.
He exhaled the smoke.
Finger Man silently watched him do so.
Shirokko found himself surprisingly liking Finger Man, who allowed him a moment's smoke and didn't attack rudely.
"Finger Man, did you crush Vladimir?"
"No, I let him live."
"Huh. Come to think of it, the white bird and black slug are gone. So they had some real ability after all."
Saying, "Underlings really can't be judged by looks," Shirokko hefted his Thompson submachine gun with a lazy grunt, slung it over his shoulder, and stared coldly at Finger Man. What kind of eyes lay behind those sunglasses? He was starting to grow curious about what kind of man this was.
"Hey, Finger Man, you don't seem like a bad guy. I can tell just by looking at your face. This country's real different from the world I know."
"Hmph, I'm sure it is."
Finger Man responded coolly. He didn't understand what Shirokko meant anyway.
"That's why—I don't want to kill you."
"Heh."
"Now move. I'm letting you escape."
Finger Man stared straight at Shirokko.
Through the sunglasses, their eyes met perfectly.
"Then may I ask you one question?"
"A question? At a time like this?"
"Shirokko, what are you standing around chatting for?! Shoot Finger Man! He defied me, you know!"
"Come on, Doctor, calm down. If I answer his question, he might let us go peacefully."
"What foolishness are you spouting?! Why do we need to run?!"
"He's Finger Man, right? The Finger Man. Then it's better to work with him as a business partner than make an enemy. If you're running an organization, that's the smart move, isn't it?"
"Guh, you idiot, we're way past that point...!"
"Just kidding... But simply killing him would be boring. You still have butter left, right? Then maybe we should give him a reward for beating Vladimir."
Shirokko turned back to Finger Man and raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"What do you want to ask?"
"Have you ever killed an explorer?"
"Yeah."
"......(Instant answer. He's a killer. Scary.)"
"That all?"
"Did you gain experience points?"
"Huh?"
"Experience points. Did you gain any?"
"...... Yeah, I did. So that's what it was. Info you wouldn't know without killing an explorer. Don't worry—you get one level's worth."
Shirokko exhaled smoke.
"By the way, my level is 301... Might be worth a lot if you beat me. If you can."
he added, cheerfully and provocatively.
Finger Man's sunglasses gleamed.
"Man in black."
"Shirokko."
"I see. Shirokko, if you come quietly, I'll make it easy for you."
"You think I'd accept that offer?"
"I see. That's unfortunate."
"Hey, Finger Man, I don't get it... You're not afraid after hearing my level?"
Even after hearing the number '301', Finger Man didn't flinch in the slightest.
That unsettled Shirokko.
He tapped the ash from his cigarette with his finger and gave him a cold look.
Finger Man possesses the Steel Spirit and an endlessly unshakable will, so no matter how powerful the enemy, his heart never wavers.
He simply chooses his actions to accomplish what must be done.
No fear, intimidation, or any negative emotions could ever hinder his actions.
"I'm the tenth-ranked S-rank guy. Might be rude to say this before the fight, but Finger Man, your chances of winning are practically zero."
"Heh."
"...... After all that, why won't you back down? Finger Man, you're clearly talented. Then you must understand just how big a deal that portly old man who hired someone like me is."
Dr. Shita Chichigasky deepened his sleazy grin.
Finger Man paused for a moment, then replied.
"For the sake of my friend's honor."
"I see............ How naive, Finger Man."
"Not really. I was taught by adults. That sometimes, the only way to correct misconduct is through violence.——And now is that time."
"......That part, at least, is true. No doubt about it."
Finger Man calmly raised his hand, and with ATK 1.5 million: HP 300, he blasted Shirokko's chest and sent him flying far into the distance.