The Golden Week holidays, which felt both short and long, had finally come to an end. It was my first day back at school in a while. Though I’d had plenty to worry about over the break, it had been a fairly productive vacation. I pulled on my uniform, tidied my appearance, grabbed my school bag, and headed out of my room.
When I stepped into the living room, Mika was already standing there, fully prepared and waiting for me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"You’re late, Onii-chan. I was starting to think we wouldn’t make it out at our usual time."
"Sorry, sorry. Getting everything ready took a bit longer than I expected."
"Honestly... You should have done all this yesterday."
"You’re right, my bad. Anyway, shall we head out before we’re actually late?"
"Yeah."
Mika grabbed her school bag and stood up from the sofa.
"Are you two leaving already? Watch out for cars."
"Okay!"
"We're heading out."
Hearing my mother’s voice calling from the kitchen where she was tidying up, we shouted our replies and left the house.
As Mika and I walked side-by-side along the school route, I saw other students heading toward the gates, many of them wearing the same sluggish, post-holiday atmosphere.
"Looks like everyone’s still stuck in vacation mode..."
"...You’re one to talk, Onii-chan. You were exactly like that right in the middle of Golden Week, remember?"
"Urgh..."
Mika’s sharp retort cut right through my idle observation.
She wasn’t wrong. It just so happened that a jewel slime had appeared in my desk drawer that day, which got my adrenaline pumping and blew away the lethargy before I had to leave. If that hadn't happened, I probably would have spent the morning commute shuffling along like a zombie myself.
"W-well... setting that aside, how was the part-time job, Mika? Did anything interesting happen?"
Realizing I was losing the argument, I forced a change of subject.
"? Something interesting?"
"It was a massive event, after all. I figured there might have been some stories worth telling."
"Something interesting... Oh, come to think of it..."
"Did something happen?"
Mika clapped her hands together as something came to mind.
"Yeah. You remember the mock battle event where that wooden sword flew at you, Onii-chan?"
"Yeah, obviously. What about it?"
"Well, that mock battle event was actually cancelled starting the very next day."
"Huh."
A safety issue, most likely. To be fair, if it hadn't been me standing there, the victim would have ended up with a nasty bruise at best and a funeral at worst. There was no reason for them to keep such a high-risk show going.
"And get this. In place of the mock battle, they put on a magic show that used actual magic."
"Heh."
"Apparently, it was like a circus performance and quite a sight to see. People were saying it was way more interesting than the mock battle."
More interesting than the mock battle? I wondered if Miyano-san and the others had stayed on to perform it, or if someone else had stepped in.
"Was the magic show done by the same people who were doing the mock battle?"
"Yeah. When I saw them, it was the same group performing the magic show too."
"I see..."
So they hadn't been fired or held solely responsible for the mishap. That was a relief. After seeing the state Miyano-san was in, I’d been worried about how they’d be treated. I’d heard stories about management pinning all the blame on part-time staff to save their own skins whenever a scandal broke out.
As we continued our walk, a voice called out to us from behind.
"Good morning, Mika-chan. And good morning to you too, Onii-san."
It was Saori-chan. She seemed to have rushed to catch up with us, as she was a bit out of breath.
"Good morning."
"Morning, Saori-chan."
Mika and I stopped to return the greeting. We waited a moment for Saori-chan to catch her breath before we started walking again.
"It’s been a little while, Saori-chan. Not since we bumped into each other at the event venue, right?"
"Yes. I’m so sorry about that; everything was just so hectic."
"I should be the one apologizing. I felt bad for taking up your time when you were clearly in a rush."
Saori-chan and I exchanged apologies for the awkwardness of our last meeting. In reality, it had just been a case of bad timing for both of us.
"Oh, that’s right. I haven't properly thanked you yet."
"Thanked me for what?"
"For the free coupons for the event stalls."
"Ah, those."
At her mention of them, I finally remembered the coupons I’d forgotten I even gave them.
"I heard from Mika-chan that you let us have them, Onii-san."
"They weren't much use to me anyway. If you two were able to use them, then it worked out for the best."
"But thanks to you, Mika-chan and I were able to have delicious lunches every single day during our shifts! I can’t thank you enough, Onii-san."
Saori-chan gave me a beaming smile and bowed her head in thanks again. It felt a bit much, considering I was just passing on something I’d received for free.
Scratching my head to hide my embarrassment, I shot a glance at Mika, hoping she would bail me out.
However...
"The stall food really was great. Thanks to Onii-chan, we had such a nice lunch every day."
"Right? That yakisoba especially was just exquisite."
"Exactly! The smell of the slightly burnt sauce was the best part..."
Mika didn't even notice my silent plea. Instead, she dived into a gourmet discussion with Saori-chan, reminiscing about the food they’d eaten during their shifts. Honestly, just listening to them was making me hungry.
I led the way while rubbing my stomach, when I suddenly felt a wave of intense gazes directed at us. I looked around to see what was happening and realized the other students on their way to school were staring at the two girls—who were still deep in their food talk—with eyes like starving wolves.
"..."
A few people made eye contact with me and sent resentful glares my way. Curiously, the majority of the glares were coming from the girls rather than the boys. Had everyone skipped breakfast this morning?
The two girls were too absorbed in their conversation to notice, but I felt incredibly awkward as we continued down the path.
While I was enduring that discomfort, another voice called out from behind.
"Yo, Daiki. Long time no see."
"...Yuji?"
"Who else would it be?"
It was Yuji. I hadn't seen him in quite a while.
"Good morning, Yuji-san."
"Good morning!"
"Morning, Mika-chan. And... Kishida-san, was it?"
"Yes!"
While I was still blinking in surprise at Yuji’s sudden appearance, Mika and Saori-chan greeted him. They were both acquainted with him, after all.
"Anyway, you two were having a conversation that’d make anyone hungry, weren't you?"
"Eh? You were listening?"
"It’s not like I was eavesdropping, but I could hear you clearly. Here, just look around."
" "..." "
At Yuji’s suggestion, the two looked around and froze. They finally noticed the predatory eyes fixed on them.
"I wasn't the only one who heard you. I saw quite a few students duck into the convenience store on the way here after hearing you guys talk."
"...U-um."
Yeah, it was a classic case of food terror. The ones who had skipped breakfast had likely succumbed and dropped out of the commute to find food, meaning the students still around us were the ones who had actually eaten a proper meal.
" "We're sorry!" "
Recognizing the situation, the two hurriedly bowed to the surrounding students. The onlookers gave wry, weary smiles and walked away without saying a word. I was just glad there weren't any actual victims of the food terror left to hold a grudge.
"...Well, anyway. Morning, Yuji."
"Yeah, morning."
Once the other students had mostly dispersed, we resumed our walk. However, a strained silence fell over us as Mika and Saori-chan moped over their blunder. To break the mood, I decided to properly catch up with Yuji.
"By the way, how was that regional trip? Was the event a success?"
"Yeah. I think you could call it a success. The turnout was pretty decent."
"Heh. It was a popular event, then?"
"Yeah. It was a general martial arts event that brought together various styles and dojos. The participating schools were all desperate to recruit new disciples, so they were really giving it their all."
Recruiting disciples... in other words, securing customers. I’d heard that more people were joining dojos because of the dungeon boom, but the number of combat-related culture schools had increased at the same time. The competition for students—customers—seemed as fierce as ever.
"Come to think of it, you were a substitute, right, Yuji? Did you manage to recruit anyone?"
"Nah. Swordsmanship is usually pretty popular, but we were just stand-ins this time. We just directed anyone interested to the dojo that asked us to fill in for them."
"Is that really okay?"
If they wanted to join after seeing Yuji and Juzo-san’s mock battle, wouldn't they feel cheated if the actual dojo didn't live up to that level?
"It’ll probably be fine. We didn't do a mock battle that was that far out there..."
"...You sure about that?"
"Yeah. For the most part, we only moved in a way that looked like normal humans, and Grandpa didn't get serious either. It should have just looked like a 'somewhat impressive' mock battle... I think."
As he spoke, Yuji’s voice trailed off, and he started to look a little unsure of himself. Had he gotten caught up in the heat of the moment and done something? When I gave him a suspicious look, Yuji awkwardly averted his eyes. He had definitely done something.
"Um, Yuji-san? Were you performing in an event show too?"
Mika, who had been listening to us, chimed in with some hesitation. She was likely thinking back to the mock battle show at her own job.
"Hm? Ah, at the request of a dojo owner I know, my grandpa and I did a demonstration at a regional event."
"And apparently, he messed up."
"I didn't mess up. I just... accidentally snapped the wooden sword during the final exchange."
"...That counts as messing up."
For a wooden sword to snap... just how intense was that exchange? Though, to be fair, if we put enough spirit into a strike and the parry goes wrong, a wooden sword can break easily enough. We used to snap them all the time when we first started our mock battles.
"What?! You broke a wooden sword?!"
"Do those things even break?"
See? Look at Mika and Saori-chan’s reactions. To an ordinary person, a wooden sword snapping during a mock battle is nothing short of an abnormal event.
When I directed a flat stare at him, Yuji’s shoulders slumped in depression.
"I knew it. That’s why, after that..."
After that... what? I wanted to press him on what had happened, but I hesitated to speak to him now that he was radiating such a gloomy aura. Mika and Saori-chan seemed to feel the same way, as they both took a collective step back from him.
We continued the rest of the way to school in silence, with Yuji moping the whole way.
"Ah, well, we'll head off here..."
"Good luck, Onii-san."
"Ah, wait—"
The moment we reached the entrance hall, Mika and Saori-chan waved and bolted. Even though our shoe lockers were in different locations, I felt like they had effectively abandoned me with the still-depressed Yuji. Give me a break.
After finally reaching the classroom and seeing Yuji to his seat, I slumped over my own desk.
"Why do I have to deal with this much stress first thing in the morning?"
The complaint slipped out before I could stop it. I had only walked to school, yet the mental fatigue was immense. Between the resentful glares of food terror victims and acting as an attendant for a friend in a tailspin...
"I want to go home already."
"What are you talking about? You just got here."
"...Hm?"
I lifted my head to find Shigemori looking down at me with an exasperated expression.
"...Oh, Shigemori."
"Don't 'Oh, Shigemori' me. Why are you so exhausted so early in the morning?"
"A lot happened."
I sat up and told Shigemori, who was in the seat in front of mine, about the morning's events. The exasperation on his face gradually turned into sympathy as the story went on.
"Ah, I see. Yeah, I’d be tired too if I were in your shoes..."
"Right?"
Venting to Shigemori made me feel a bit better. When you’re feeling down, it really is best to talk it out with someone rather than keeping it all bottled up.
"Alright. Time to get through the day."
I took my things out of my bag, put them in my desk, and started getting ready for class. I glanced over at Yuji; he was still shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. However, he was getting ready for class too, so he seemed to be functioning. If he was still down by lunch, I’d listen to his story and try to cheer him up. Whether he’d actually talk was another matter, though.
"I need to talk to him about Mika and the others, so I hope he recovers soon."
I’d thought about bringing it up on the way to school, but there was no way I could have started that conversation with the mood he was in.
It wasn’t incredibly urgent, so I figured I’d just talk to him and Hiiragi-san during the lunch break. I just hoped they’d both be okay with it.