A heavy silence stretched between us for a long moment.
Was it just my imagination, or was the background music in the cafe suddenly blaring?
The two of them didn't say a word, their eyes fixed intently on my face. I closed my eyes and took a slow, deep breath to steady my thoughts before finally addressing them.
“Um… okay. First, can I ask why?”
I needed to know the reasoning that had led them to this conclusion. Whether I ended up supporting or opposing the idea, that had to be the starting point.
Mika and Saori-chan shared a brief glance before Mika began to explain.
“The reason we brought up taking the Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures Issuance Exam… it actually started with a problem at school. Specifically, a problem among the first-years.”
“A problem among the first-years?”
“Yeah. There’s a girl in our class who already got her explorer license back in April.”
“Huh, in April? But you have to be sixteen to take the Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures Issuance Exam, right? Most kids are only fifteen when they first enter high school.”
In April, most students would be barred by the age limit even if they wanted to take the exam. When the dungeons saw their public release last year, only about two-thirds of our own class met the age requirement at the time.
In a way, the fact that the release had been delayed by six months was a stroke of luck for people in our year.
“Right. There are only three kids in our class born in April, so the total number isn't that high… but there’s one Repeating Student in our class. He’s the one leading the charge, encouraging everyone who meets the age requirement to become an explorer.”
“Encouraging them…”
Something about this started to smell fishy. Based on the description, a certain type of person immediately came to mind.
“That guy apparently got so obsessed with dungeon diving last year that his grades tanked and he had to repeat the year,” Saori-chan explained. “Because of that, the people he used to party with all moved up a grade normally, and his party was dissolved.”
“And you can’t enter a dungeon unless you’re in a party, right?” Mika added. “So it seems like he’s trying to recruit a new group of members.”
Repeating a grade because of a dungeon obsession… I wondered if he’d found a high-value drop early on. It’s like a novice gambler hitting it big with beginner’s luck and then spending the rest of their life chasing that first high. It was the first step toward a serious addiction.
Regardless, the guy sounded like a total nuisance to everyone around him.
“For now, the kids he’s recruited were already interested in dungeons, so that’s one thing. But there are others who want to focus on their clubs and have no interest in being explorers, so he’s becoming a real problem for them,” Mika said.
“…I see.”
I remembered seeing reports on the news and in the papers about a new rule added this year: explorers were now banned from participating in competitions like the Inter-High. There had apparently been quite a bit of pushback against the regulations, but the authorities eventually concluded that the gap in physical abilities between explorers and non-explorers was too wide for the games to remain fair. For anyone planning to pour their heart and soul into a school sports club, becoming an explorer meant giving up on tournaments entirely.
There were rumors of a movement to create dedicated competitive categories for explorers, but the word was it would take several years to finalize the rules and get it off the ground.
“But that Repeating Student doesn't care about anyone else's circumstances,” Saori-chan said. “He’s incredibly persistent with his recruitment.”
“It sounds like he’s desperate to put a party together and doesn't care how he does it. I wonder if he’s under some kind of time limit?”
Or maybe he was just suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
“Who knows? We haven’t heard anything like that…”
Saori-chan tilted her head at my question.
“But if you don't want to do it, wouldn't it be better to just give him a clear ‘no’?”
“That’s the thing, we want to… but the fact that the Repeating Student is an actual explorer is the catch,” she replied.
“The catch?”
“Yeah. We had physical fitness tests during PE at the start of April, and he put up these incredible records right in front of everyone. It was just like those celebrity sports competitions we watched with Onii-chan the other day,” Mika explained.
“At first, everyone was just impressed, but then we started thinking about his personality,” Saori-chan said with a sigh, looking down. “The thought that he could turn that strength against us at any moment…”
So, he’d essentially terrified the class with his physical prowess, creating an atmosphere where no one dared to stand up to him?
Now that I thought about it, we didn't have that problem in our year because several classmates became explorers at the same time. If a single person with a twisted personality displays overwhelming physical power right in front of you, you’re either going to admire them or fear them. I wondered if the recruits joined because they were inspired, or because they were too scared to refuse.
“…I get it. But what does that have to do with you two wanting to become explorers?”
“Well…”
“Because I’m one of the people born in April,” Saori-chan said.
“You are, Saori-chan?”
“Yes. My birthday is April 30th. That Repeating Student has been absent during the school days over Golden Week, so he hasn’t approached me yet… but we’re in the same class. He’ll find out eventually, and then the recruitment will start.”
Saori-chan’s expression turned sour, as if she were imagining the Repeating Student’s recruitment tactics.
Wait, did that mean the kids he’d already recruited were being made to skip school? Is that even legal?
“If you don’t tell him your birthday, wouldn't you be safe?”
“In theory, yes… but I mentioned it in a conversation with friends before, so I’m sure it’ll leak out eventually,” she said.
“Some of the kids he’s already recruited were sitting near her when she said it…” Mika added.
“Haaa…”
Saori-chan awkwardly looked away from me, and Mika wore a guilty expression. Wait—Mika too? Silence descended on the table once more.
As we sat there, the waiter arrived with our order.
“Thank you for waiting.…Is this everything for today? Please, enjoy your stay.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I thanked the waiter and looked back at the girls.
The cake sets and blended coffee were arranged in front of our silent group. I took a sip of my coffee to settle myself and prompted them to continue.
“So, how many people has this Repeating Student managed to gather so far?”
“He’s reaching out to every class, so maybe ten to twenty people?” Mika estimated.
“It’s become quite a large group among the first-years,” Saori-chan added. “With their abilities as explorers and their financial resources, they have a lot of influence in our year.”
“Exactly. Nobody wants to pick a fight because they can’t win by force, and there are plenty of hangers-on looking for a free ride,” Mika said.
Between bites of cheesecake, the two of them filled me in on the chaos unfolding among the first-years.
I’d never heard even a whisper of such a group existing…
“Maybe I’m just out of the loop, but I haven’t heard anything about a group like that among the second-years,” I noted, frowning at the Repeating Student’s behavior.
The two of them exchanged a look and nodded knowingly.
“The new school year only started a month ago, so their influence probably hasn’t crossed grade levels yet,” Mika suggested.
“Or they might be intentionally avoiding trouble with the other grades,” Saori-chan observed. “No matter how much influence they have among the first-years, they’re no match for the second or third-year explorers.”
“Oh, that’s probably it. No matter how strong or rich they think they are, they look pretty pathetic compared to an actual second or third-year explorer party,” Mika agreed.
They were probably right. If you compared the Repeating Student’s mob to the established parties in the upper grades, the upperclassmen would win by a landslide. The Repeating Student might have the numbers, but in terms of quality, the gap was insurmountable. Even if they tried to start something, a party of second or third-years with actual experience would shut them down in seconds.
I sipped my coffee, organizing my thoughts as I listened to them.
“But the fact remains that they have a huge influence among the first-years,” Mika said.
“Yeah. And as time goes on, more people will join, and their influence will only grow…” Saori-chan added.
“Most of the people in the group right now are boys, but I wonder if more girls will be forced to join eventually?”
“If those people become the majority, it’s almost certain.”
I see. So a large-scale pseudo-guild with the Repeating Student at the helm was forming among the first-years, and Mika and Saori-chan were terrified of being swallowed up by it.
“All right, I think I understand the situation. It sounds like things have gotten pretty messy.”
“Yeah. It would be fine if it were just people who actually wanted to do it, but the forced recruitment is just…” Mika trailed off.
“Yes. Honestly, it’s a massive nuisance,” Saori-chan agreed.
Both of them let out heavy, exhausted sighs. An organization that only grew more powerful and overbearing with time… that was definitely a problem.
“Right now, their influence is small enough that it’s not impossible to refuse, but I think in another six months, it’ll be much harder to keep saying no,” Saori-chan said.
“That’s why we decided we wanted to become explorers on our own, before we get cornered by them,” Mika declared.
The two of them once again stated their intent to take the explorer exam. Given the circumstances, their desire to become explorers wasn't as reckless as I’d first thought.
But still…
“You don't necessarily have to explore as just the two of you. Why not join a different group? Your experience points efficiency and the share of the rewards might be lower, but having more people makes dungeon crawling much safer,” I suggested.
Assuming they could coordinate properly, a group of ten novices could explore without much risk of serious injury. If they were going to do it anyway, it seemed like a reasonable compromise.
“No way. If those people were even slightly decent, I might consider it, but…” Mika said.
“I’ll have to pass on that as well,” Saori-chan added.
They both flatly rejected my suggestion with expressions of pure disgust.
“If you hate the idea that much, do you have a specific reason?”
“Well… we do, but most of it is still just rumors,” Mika admitted.
“Yes. What we know for sure is that they have a strange number of injuries and they’re generally delinquent,” Saori-chan explained.
“Injuries are an occupational hazard for any explorer, but what do you mean by delinquent?”
“Habitual unexcused absences and lateness. And there are rumors of drinking and smoking,” Mika said.
“There’s no proof yet, so the school hasn't officially disciplined them.”
It was the typical delinquent starter pack. Since they were explorers, they had the money, and they probably used various explorer connections to get their hands on stuff—like trading items inside the dungeon.
Still, habitual absences and lateness… hadn’t that guy already repeated a grade once?
“We’ve heard plenty of other bad rumors about them, too,” Saori-chan said.
“There’s no way we’re going into a dungeon with people like that,” Mika added.
“After seeing the footage of the dungeon you showed us, Onii-san, I realized that trust is everything. You need to know someone has your back. I could never trust them with my life,” Saori-chan concluded.
Zero trust, then. Just what kind of rumors were flying around to make them this wary? I studied their faces. The revulsion was plain to see. For them to be this adamant about their rejection, the situation must be truly dire.
“I see. If that’s how it is, I won't push the matter. I understand why you two want to become explorers now.”
“Yeah!”
“Yes!”
They both nodded vigorously. It was clear that joining the Repeating Student’s group was out of the question for them.
I finished my coffee and looked at them.
“I understand your reasons, but have you talked to your parents about this yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Neither have I. I wanted to talk to you first, Onii-san, before speaking to my parents.”
“I see.”
Since they were minors, they would need parental consent to take the Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures Issuance Exam. But before they got to that, what did they want from me?
“So, that was a long lead-up, but… what exactly did you want to consult me about?”
“Oh, right! Well, we wanted to know what we actually need to start being explorers,” Mika said.
“Mika-chan and I tried looking it up online, but there are so many different opinions and the lists are so long that we got totally lost,” Saori-chan added.
“So we figured we’d ask an actual explorer we know.”
“Makes sense.”
What you need changes drastically depending on your combat style, so it’s no wonder the advice online is a mess. However, there were a few universal essentials.
“Obviously you’ll need your Explorer Card, but for the absolute bare minimum… you’ll need weapons, armor, food, water, and a light source. After that…”
I began listing items, ticking them off on my fingers. The two of them listened with rapt attention, their fingers flying across their smartphone screens as they took notes.
Once I had covered the basics, I clapped my hands together, remembering one crucial thing.
“Oh, right. I almost forgot the most important thing.”
“? Something important?”
“What is it?”
They both looked up from their phones, tilting their heads in unison. I leaned forward slightly and beckoned them closer. Once they had leaned in, I lowered my voice.
“It’s a bit hard to say out loud, but it’s an absolute necessity.”
They both gave me a skeptical look.
“The thing you’ll definitely need… is diapers.”
“Eh?”
“What?”
The two of them stared at me, completely flabbergasted by my unexpected advice.