We made it safely out of the dungeon, and it sealed itself shut a few minutes later. Victor approached me, explaining, "I was the first one to enter the dungeon, so it recognized me as the leader. That's why I received the final reward instead of you. But don't worry, you'll receive your reward in due time."
I understood Victor's rationale and decided that in the future, I would be the first to enter the dungeon to secure the rewards. The hot lady who had congratulated us also joined the conversation. Victor inquired about the individual who had graded the dungeon.
She mentioned that 'Demenear' had been responsible for grading the dungeon. Victor, with an expression of anger, asked, "Where is he?" The lady told us, "Let me call him." She entered a small tent and returned with the news that Demenear wasn't present and urged us to come quickly to see something.
We rushed to see a monitor displaying the dungeon's grade as 'C' from the beginning. It appeared that Demenear had trapped us for his own reasons, leaving Victor frustrated. He made a phone call, likely to report the situation.
Shortly, an individual from outside entered the tent and informed us that the head wanted to meet us in the office. One of the four officers suggested that we put this incident behind us since we had safely escaped. Catching Demenear could wait, as there were more pressing matters.
The lady remarked that we were lucky, and one of the officers, who had wielded a hammer as a weapon, credited my strength. The lady looked into my eyes and commented, "You're quite strong, huh."
Her words sent a thrill down my spine. No woman had ever spoken to me like that before. I even considered asking her in a manly way, "Will you marry this strong man?" but the revolver in her pocket made me think otherwise. I simply replied, "Thank you," and left with the impressive officers, though I couldn't help but lament that if I had confessed, we might have had twins within a year.
We reached the office, and the four officers recounted the events to the head. After carefully listening to their report, the head officer made an announcement. "The government is prepared to accept your contract, and we will provide you with the necessary allowances. However, there is a condition."
He continued, "This contract will be valid for only six months. We are in the dark regarding this apocalypse, and hasty decisions may not be to our benefit. Under this new contract, there will be a '50-50' share in standard scenarios and a '70-30' share in special scenarios where the government assigns mana stone collectors, and you are tasked with clearing dungeons and protecting them."
The head officer concluded, "Do you accept this contract?" I took a moment to think it over and eventually agreed to the terms and conditions. After signing the contract and receiving my part, I expressed my gratitude, saying, "Thank you for accepting my contract."
The following day, I read in the news that my country had signed a contract with an 'S' grade adventurer, and to my surprise, it was none other than me. It occurred to me that they would have accepted even a '70-30' share offer, given that there were very few S-class adventurers in the world. My initial foolishness had turned out to be an advantage, as the contract was valid for only six months.