While Mika and Saori-chan faced each other, lost in their own little world, Juzo-san and the three of us huddled together to talk.
"Are you sure about this, Kokonoe-kun? Your sister and her friend..."
"Daiki, if you’re going to stop them, now’s the time," Yuji added.
Hiiragi-san and Yuji turned worried gazes toward me. Juzo-san didn't speak, but his eyes spoke as clearly as words.
Faced with their stares, I shook my head.
"I wish I could just say it’s fine because it’s what they decided... but considering the long-term, I have to agree with them."
"...You mean what Mika-chan said about their three years of high school?"
"Yeah. As long as we're enrolled, I think we can keep them under our wing and protect them. But once we graduate, they’ll be on their own. I don't think it's such a bad idea for them to establish their own counter-organization—a guild—while they still have us. However..."
"However?"
Hiiragi-san tilted her head, and I grimaced, trailing off.
"...It’s about what form that guild will take, isn't it?" Yuji asked, a grim look on his face.
"Yeah." I nodded gravely. "If we could establish a school-authorized organization like a club or a circle, it would be the best way to appeal to the neutral students and the ones opposed to the current group. But..."
"That..."
"Would be impossible."
"Probably... No, it’s almost certainly out of the question."
The activities of the Repeating Student explorer team were strictly off-campus and entirely separate from the school. Since there weren't any official tournaments, achievements in explorer activities weren't factored into school evaluations. If it were a school-approved organization, those results would likely be subject to evaluation on their transcripts.
However, for an organization to be school-authorized, it required an Advisor—a teacher to act as the responsible party. In other words...
"Explorers have a high rate of death and injury. There’s no way the school would officially recognize a group that has that as its primary activity."
"That’s true," Hiiragi-san agreed. "If a member gets injured during a dungeon dive, the responsibility falls on the Advisor and the school. Knowing that, I can't imagine the school would authorize any group whose activities involved actual dungeon exploration."
"Indeed. I'd wager the school wouldn't grant such a thing their blessing," Juzo-san added.
Without school authorization, a guild founded by unknown first-years would have no selling point to attract members. It would be different if Mika or Saori-chan had the kind of charisma that could naturally command student support, but expecting that from ordinary high schoolers was reckless.
The reason the Repeating Students were able to build an organization among the freshmen was because they had undeniable power and deep pockets. Without those, you couldn't build an organization of that scale so quickly.
"In that case, we should give up on the idea of a standard club or circle."
"Seems that way. Whether it's a club or a circle, the school regulations require an Advisor for it to be established."
"If it were a research society, they might not need an Advisor, but..."
"Then it wouldn't be much different from the parties we second and third-years already have with our friends. There would be no point in officially creating one."
The three of us put our heads together, fretting over what we could use as a draw to gather people, but no good ideas came to mind.
Then Juzo-san spoke up.
"Tell me, you lot... your goal in wanting school authorization is simply to gather first-years who aspire to be explorers, is it not?"
"? Yes. Given the choice between an authorized organization and an unofficial one, most people will choose the authorized one."
"Everyone has a weakness for labels like 'official' or 'exclusive,' after all," Hiiragi-san noted.
"Then it does not necessarily have to be an organization directly tied to explorer activities, does it?"
"Eh? Ah, I suppose not."
When Hiiragi-san and I answered, Juzo-san nodded slightly and offered a proposal.
"Then how about this... an organization that imparts the know-how necessary for working as an explorer on an individual basis?"
"? You mean..."
"The knowledge required for explorers who don't belong to a corporation... the business of being an explorer as a sole proprietor."
"Ah!"
"I see."
"That’s a great idea."
The three of us exchanged looks of surprise and realization.
If high school explorers like us wanted to earn money in the dungeons, we eventually had to register as individual businesses for tax purposes. If you worked as an explorer year-round, you’d easily exceed the income limit for dependent tax exemptions. Last year, things had almost become a huge headache because of that.
"Even if it’s necessary, the hurdle for a high schooler to walk into a law or accounting office for a business consultation is quite high."
"If we start a group that can provide that support within the school..."
"It would be a huge draw for first-years aiming to become explorers."
"We’d be providing the answers to their questions—where to go, who to ask—which they’re already dying to know."
In short, we would use the teaching of practical business procedures as a hook to gather aspiring explorers. Since the activity would be strictly about administrative training, the school wouldn't have to take responsibility for deaths or injuries occurring during dungeon dives—the biggest hurdle to authorization.
"Procedures for starting a business, managing expenses, handling tax returns... there are plenty of topics we could teach," Hiiragi-san said.
"With those activities, the school might actually authorize us as a club or circle. Even if a member is killed or injured in a dungeon, the school can argue the accident happened outside the scope of club activities."
"Moral responsibility aside, they wouldn't be held legally liable..."
Holding the club responsible in this context would be like a member of a Manga Research Club getting injured while playing pretend at home, trying to recreate a manga move away from school, and then trying to sue the club.
Even if they were sued, the school could argue it was completely misplaced blame.
"What about... the Individual Entrepreneurship Research Club?" Hiiragi-san suggested. "The official goal would be researching entrepreneurship to broaden future career options..."
"Individual Entrepreneurship Research Club... That name actually fits perfectly. Given the current climate, it goes without saying what 'individual entrepreneurship' refers to."
"For members, we have the three of us plus Mika-chan and Saori-chan, so that’s five. If we can secure an Advisor, we’ll clear the minimum requirements to found the club," Yuji noted.
"An Advisor, huh... I wonder if any teachers have free time?"
For teachers, being a club Advisor was essentially unpaid overtime under the guise of volunteering. Some teachers were surely already juggling multiple clubs. In that situation, a teacher who might be willing to take on a brand-new club... Ah.
"What about Mr. Mafune, my homeroom teacher from last year? I heard the soccer club he advises is currently suspended because they don't have enough players."
"Now that you mention it, you're right. I heard they had to stop activities because of a member shortage."
"...The story was that since so many members became explorers, they didn't have enough players who could participate in official tournaments," Yuji recalled.
Due to the new regulation barring explorers from official sports tournaments, a significant number of students had quit their clubs back in March, causing quite a stir. Some stayed even if they couldn't compete, but the majority of athletic club members had left. Because of that fallout, several clubs were still in a state of suspension.
Apparently, they had tried to recruit freshmen during the club orientations, but no proactive new students wanted to join a club that wasn't even active.
"Well, if you get players making moves straight out of a battle anime, they’re bound to make a few regulations."
"True. If you have multiple players who can sink super long shots from the center line, it wouldn't even be a game."
"It was a big scandal in professional soccer too, wasn't it? A few players who had been diving into dungeons were suspended."
"I remember that. I think... it was a young player who couldn't make the first string who started it?"
"I believe so."
The team had become suspicious of the young player's sudden, unnatural performance. When they investigated, they discovered he’d been playing while hiding the fact that he’d become an explorer. At the time, there were no clear rules, but he ended up being treated like a doper; he quit the team and became a full-time explorer.
Similar cases had popped up in multiple teams, dominating the news for a while.
"Mr. Mafune might already be helping out another club, but it’s worth asking."
"You’re right. Even if he can't do it, he might be able to introduce us to another teacher who has time."
I didn't know if any teacher would jump at the chance, but asking was free.
Besides, given the nature of the club we were planning, the chances of a member getting injured during club hours were low. There would be no morning practices, and after-school sessions would be short. We wouldn't even meet on weekends. For a teacher forced into an Advisor role, those conditions should be pretty attractive.
At the very least, it wouldn't be a burden on their schedule.
Now that our direction was settled, I called out to Mika and Saori-chan, who were still lost in their radiant world of friendship.
"Uh... Mika? Saori-chan? Do you think you could join us for a bit?"
...!
They hurriedly pulled apart, their faces flushing red with embarrassment. Not that I minded.
I cleared my throat and explained our plan. Initially, they looked confused, but as the explanation went on, their expressions shifted to hope.
"...So, that’s what we’ve come up with. What do you think?"
"Founding a club...?" Mika whispered.
"We can start as a circle if we have to. Clubs are a hassle with tournaments and external events anyway. Even without a club budget, we can cover the cost of supplies ourselves. The important part is that it's a school-authorized organization."
"Being authorized is a perfect selling point for recruitment," Hiiragi-san added. "For anyone planning to be an explorer, the knowledge we're offering is something they crave. Normally, a high schooler wouldn't even know where to start if they wanted to register a business."
"And because it’s school-authorized, if the Repeating Student team tries to mess with us, the school will have a legitimate reason to intervene. I'm sure the administration is already looking for an excuse to step in anyway," Yuji said.
Mika and Saori-chan still looked a bit overwhelmed, but they seemed to understand the logic.
"There’s a chance they might ignore all that and attack anyway... but at the very least, this will buy the time you two need to get stronger."
"If they know we're backing you, then even if they do make a move, it likely won't be until the second semester, after summer vacation," I explained.
"That’s probably true," Hiiragi-san noted. "If they're going to challenge us, they’ll want to build up their numbers and strength first. They know they can't beat a veteran explorer team right now, so they'll spend the summer leveling up."
From what Mika had told us, they didn't seem like an overtly aggressive group yet... but there was no telling how they’d act once they had more power. Even in the most disciplined organizations, there’s always someone who gets cocky and ruins things. Small sparks often lead to big fires.
It was best to be prepared.
"We'll handle the paperwork for the club. In the meantime, you two should focus on training with Juzo-san. Becoming an explorer boosts your physical abilities through level ups, but you have to practice to actually master that power."
"Exactly," Yuji agreed. "If there were combat skills like in a game, it might be different, but no skills like that have been found yet. You have to learn how to handle a weapon on your own."
As Yuji said, no 'Arts-type' skills had been discovered. Because of that, martial arts dojos and combat schools were thriving.
"Magic is the same," Hiiragi-san added. "Acquiring a magic skill lets you cast it, but mastering it is even harder than learning a martial art."
Magic was notoriously difficult to train. Between the limited EP and the lack of practice space, most people were better off just learning to use a weapon. At low levels, your EP capacity was tiny, meaning you had to wait for natural recovery between every few casts. Finding a place to practice magic outside of a dungeon was a nightmare due to the waiting lists.
"...Yeah, we understand."
"We'll do our best."
Mika and Saori-chan nodded with serious, determined expressions. I bowed to Juzo-san, entrusting them to his care.
"That’s the plan, Juzo-san. The three of us will be busy with the club founding for a while, so we might be late for training. Please look after these two in the meantime."
"Mm. Leave it to me."
With Juzo-san guiding them, I knew they were in good hands.
With the discussion concluded, we moved on to our scheduled training. The look of utter shock on Mika and Saori-chan's faces as they watched our mock battle from the sidelines was priceless. They were even more stunned when I told them that once they became explorers, they could reach our level in just a month or two.