I, Who Was Criticized as the World's Weakest S-Rank Explorer, Am Actually the World's Strongest Explorer - Episode 12

Episode 12 

Damn it… Even here, this dungeon continues to obstruct me. 

Maybe this dungeon is just incredibly shy. It’s like a bashful girl saying, “N-no… don’t look at me there…!” If only it were an actual beautiful girl instead. Ugh, these kinds of daydreams are the only way I can stay sane. 

I vent my frustration by kicking the dungeon floor and walls like some abusive boyfriend. 

Afterward, I followed Kirishima-san’s instructions and conducted measurements on a few different floors. 

However, there was no response beyond the 51st floor. Floors below that could still be measured, so it wasn’t a sudden malfunction. 

Just to be thorough, I even went past the 60th floor. But no readings came through. After discussing it with Kirishima-san, we decided to return for now. 

Once we regrouped, I handed her the measuring device. Kirishima-san operated the buttons, and the screen displayed the measurement history so far. 

Everything recorded beyond the 51st floor was marked as “error”. 

“…..Indeed, the records only go up to the 50th floor.” 

“…..Yeah.” 

“You progressed through each floor in just a few minutes, huh?” 

“Well… I ignored all the monsters this time,” 

I replied, puffing out my chest a little. I felt slightly proud. 

Kirishima-san smiled wryly, her cheek twitching as if she couldn’t believe it. 

“…This isn’t something you can fix just by trying hard. But among explorers, there aren’t many who can advance this fast.” 

“Well, I know the Kamino Town Dungeon pretty well. So it worked out somehow.” 

Not that I could maintain this pace in other dungeons. 

Kirishima-san gazed at the measuring device, deep in thought, before letting out a resigned sigh. 

…Oh no, I know this vibe. This is *that* usual moment, isn’t it? 

The people from the Explorer Association often sigh at me like this. They then scold me with, “Don’t say such stupid things.” I’ve heard it more times than I can count. 

Kirishima-san had been much more cooperative than anyone before, but… maybe this is the end after all. 

Still, even the fact that she tried so hard up to this point means a lot. 

Just as I was thinking that— 

“It seems difficult to proceed with the floor measuring device… We’ll need to come up with a new strategy.” 

“K-Kirishima-san…” 

“…W-what’s with that deeply moved look on your face?” 

“…N-no, it’s just… nobody’s ever gone this far to help before.” 

“……..I’m not doing anything extraordinary. The Explorer Association’s job is to manage and maintain dungeons. The head of the Akisaki City branch left a mystery like this unattended. He is the one who’s crazy.” 

Kirishima-san practically spat out the words with frustration. 

“I want to do something about this too. …What should we do next?” 

“…I think we should report this to the Association. For now, I’ll relay the data from the measuring device to my superiors and see if they can escalate the matter to headquarters.” 

Kirishima-san spoke with a serious expression. 

“Thank you so much!” 

“………I’ll be honest: the Akisaki City Association staff have little motivation. The organization is pretty rotten, so we might need to make another request eventually.” 

“Not a problem at all! If there’s anything I can do, just say the word!” 

Just hearing her say that made me feel so relieved. Up until now, I hadn’t received any help at all….. 

Remembering the past made me a little sad, but Kirishima-san bowed her head politely before leaving. 

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.” 

“Of course. If anything comes up, please don’t hesitate to reach out.” 

With that, we parted ways. 

Having someone willing to cooperate like this makes me feel like I can keep pushing forward. 

—

Kirishima returned to the Association and submitted the records for review.  

However, her supervisor, Chief Murata, scoffed dismissively and shook his head.  

“This isn’t sufficient proof.”  

Kirishima mentally retorted, “Die.“  

The words “You’re not going to do anything anyway…” rose to her throat. But she swallowed them back and calmly pressed on.  

“…At the very least, we have measurement records up to the 50th floor. I believe it would be wise to conduct a proper investigation. There have been multiple activations today as well.”  

“Yeah, yeah, I know. A bunch of low-quality mana stones got brought in. The monsters don’t seem particularly strong, so it’s probably fine.”  

“……Not particularly strong? Have you actually seen them?”  

Murata let out a mocking, exasperated laugh.  

“You… and you call yourself an Association employee?”  

The condescending tone made Kirishima’s cheek twitch in irritation.  

“…What exactly are you trying to say?”  

“You can tell how strong the monsters are by the quality of the mana stones. The mana stones from the Kamino Town Dungeon are all terrible. That means the monsters there are all weaklings, right? Even with all those activations, there haven’t been any real issues. That’s proof enough. It’s common sense. Even a grade schooler knows this stuff.”  

That’s how Murata’s earlier comment, “and you call yourself an Association employee,” tied into his logic.  

He glanced briefly at Kirishima, snorted, and then turned his attention back to his computer.  

Kirishima’s cheek twitched again. She forced herself to smile to hide her anger.  

“Are you aware that there are occasional exceptions?”  

“Sure, I know that. But isn’t this all based on what Amakusa said? You can’t trust anything that guy says. He just spouts nonsense to cover for his laziness. And seriously, investigating each floor in a minute? That’s not possible. The measuring device is probably broken.”  

“…The measuring device is functioning properly. The records are all intact for each floor.”  

“Which means the device itself could be faulty. It’s been in use for a long time, after all. Besides, what were you thinking, lending it to someone like him? What if he broke it? Do you even know what kind of person Amakusa is?”  

“…Do you?”  

“Of course I do. He’s a lazy bum, Japan’s weakest, peaked while still in the womb—you name it. If you look him up, you’ll find a ton of bad rumors about him.”  

“That’s not what we’re discussing right now.”  

“Sure it is. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. He’s been an adventurer since middle school, and he’s *still* never cleared a single dungeon. That’s not normal.”  

“But… isn’t it because something’s wrong with the Kamino Town Dungeon that he can’t attempt other dungeons?”  

“Come on, didn’t Tanoue warn you not to take anything the Kamino Town people say seriously? They’re all crazy. And don’t go creating more work for us. We’re public servants, you know. No matter how hard we work, our pay doesn’t go up. Keeping things light and easy is the way to go. Efficiency is key, Kirishima.”  

“…Living efficiently and slacking off are two different things, though.”  

“Did you say something?”  

Murata raised his voice irritably. Kirishima simply replied, 

“No,” 

And she returned to her desk.