The following day, we entrusted Mika and Saori's training to Juzo-san and made our way to the staff room after school. Our objective was to find an Advisor. We had combed through the school regulations in our student handbooks the night before and confirmed that forming a new club required a set number of members, a faculty Advisor, and a clearly defined set of activity objectives and goals.
We already had the required number of members, and our objectives were already committed to paper. All that remained was securing a teacher to supervise us.
"First, let's run this by Hirasaka-sensei. It wouldn't be right to suddenly approach Mafune-sensei and ask him to be our Advisor without an appointment," I said.
"Agreed," Hiiragi-san replied. "If we don't go through Hirasaka-sensei first, people might start whispering that he’s an unreliable homeroom teacher."
"Talking to the homeroom teacher first is the proper way to handle it," Yuji added.
"True. And... we're here."
We walked down the hallway as we spoke and soon arrived at the staff room. Since classes were over, there weren't many students in sight.
I knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter. Opening it abruptly is always a bad move; you never know if they're holding a meeting that students aren't meant to overhear.
"Come in."
"Excuse us."
With a brief announcement of our presence, we stepped inside. Rows of teachers' desks filled the room, and about half of them were occupied.
Rather than venturing deep into the room, I addressed a middle-aged male teacher sitting near the entrance.
"Excuse me, is Hirasaka-sensei in?"
"Hirasaka-sensei? Hmm, hang on. Hirasaka-sensei!"
At the older teacher's call, a hand went up from the back of the room.
"Yes!?"
"Some students are here to see you!"
"Understood, thank you!"
It seemed Hirasaka-sensei was indeed at his desk.
After thanking the older teacher, we made our way toward the back. As we approached, Hirasaka-sensei, who appeared to have been organizing documents, looked up and voiced his surprise.
"Hm? Kokonoe, Hiiragi, and Hirose too? What are you all doing here together?"
"We have something we wanted to consult you about, sir... Do you have a moment?"
"Yeah, I can spare a few minutes. So? What's on your minds?"
"Actually... we're looking to start a new club, and we wanted your advice."
"...What?"
At the mention of forming a club, Hirasaka-sensei's expression soured for a fleeting second before he quickly smoothed it over with a practiced smile.
"I don't know what kind of club you're planning, but you need at least five people to start one. Can you even gather that many?"
"Yes. We've reached out to two others besides the three of us, and they've already agreed. The membership count won't be an issue."
"I see... Well then, have you decided on the activity objectives and goals? The 'what you'll do' and 'what you're aiming for' part?"
"Yes. Please take a look at this."
I handed him the memo I had prepared. Hirasaka-sensei skimmed the text, paused for a beat, and then his eyes practically popped out of his head.
"What?! Hey, hey... are you kids serious?"
"Yes... Is there a problem?"
"No, it's not that it's a 'problem,' but..."
Hirasaka-sensei looked perplexed, scratching his head as his gaze fell back to the memo. Apparently, the concept of "Entrepreneurship Research" was a lot for him to digest.
"Given the current climate, I don't think it's that strange of an idea," I ventured.
"Well, maybe, but... for high schoolers to have a club like this..."
He seemed to be experiencing a mild allergic reaction to the unfamiliar concept. It made sense; this wasn't a vocational or commercial school, so Entrepreneurship Research wasn't exactly a common topic.
"Lately, many high schoolers have become explorers," I explained. "For students who want to become sole proprietors in that field, I think it would be beneficial to have a place on campus where they can seek advice."
"We are also sole proprietors acting as explorers," Hiiragi-san added. "We believe we can offer advice to other students based on our own experiences."
"For a high schooler, participating in the entrepreneurship consultations held by the government can feel intimidating," Yuji said. "But they could ask fellow students anything without feeling out of place."
"Helping people in need... in a way, it's a type of volunteer organization," I concluded.
Indeed. On paper, the club we were trying to create was essentially a consultation room for student problems. Since we’d be providing specialized advice to peers in trouble, calling it a volunteer organization wasn't a stretch.
Of course, it wasn't actually a pro bono service, so it wasn't purely a volunteer group, but the optics were good.
"Hmm."
Hirasaka-sensei continued to groan as he stared at the memo. It was a lukewarm reaction, which was more or less what I had anticipated. I decided to move on to the matter of the Advisor.
"Sensei, about the Advisor... are there any teachers who aren't currently in charge of a club and might be available? The regulations say we need at least one."
"An Advisor, huh..."
"Is it difficult?"
"Almost every teacher at this school already oversees something. However, some clubs have multiple teachers serving as Advisors. Let's see, who might be willing to take it on..."
Hirasaka-sensei crossed his arms, searching his memory for a candidate. He seemed to be looking for someone currently serving as a secondary Advisor who could be spared. After two or three minutes of agonizing, he finally produced a name.
"I've got it... How about Hashimoto-sensei from the Civics department? She's currently the assistant advisor for the volleyball club. If I recall, she graduated from an economics university, so she might actually be sympathetic to your goals."
"Hashimoto-sensei, huh..."
"What, don't you know her?"
"Ah, no. I've never had her for a class, but I recognize her from school assemblies."
If I recalled correctly, Hashimoto-sensei was a young, new teacher who had just started this year. Since only a month had passed since the term began, I didn't know much about her personality. I glanced at Yuji and Hiiragi-san, but their expressions suggested they were just as clueless.
"Well, I'll pass the word along to Hashimoto-sensei, so go talk to her yourself. She's not... in right now. Come back to the staff room tomorrow after school."
"Ah, yes. Understood."
"Sorry I couldn't be more help. Oh, and also..."
Hirasaka-sensei booted up his laptop, opened a file, and started printing.
"Here—an application for establishing a new group. Once you get Hashimoto-sensei's consent, fill in the blanks and submit it. You'll probably have to start as a circle first, but you can be promoted to a club if you achieve results at competitions or the like."
"Thank you very much, sir."
I thanked Hirasaka-sensei as I took the forms.
Still, what kind of competition do "entrepreneurship researchers" even enter? A symposium?
After bowing once more, we left the staff room with the application in hand.
Having secured the paperwork, we went straight home and met up with Mika and Saori-chan. We were exactly an hour late, and the sight that greeted us at the dojo was Mika and Saori-chan collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath as if they were at death's door.
...What on earth happened?
"Um... Juzo-san?"
I hesitantly called out to the old man, who was meditating peacefully next to the two fallen girls. In response to my voice, Juzo-san slowly opened his eyes.
"...Oh, ye've finally come, have ye?"
"The two of them look like they've had the life drained out of them. What did you do?"
"Hm? Nothin'. I just did a bit of sparring until those two reached their limits. They had more stamina than I expected, ye know?"
Juzo-san said it as if it were nothing, but "until their limits"...
Shifting my gaze, I looked at Mika and Saori-chan. Yeah... they looked like they were ready to expire at any moment.
"Don't be lookin' so worried. If I don't gauge the limits of the lasses' stamina before the trainin' starts, I can't decide on the contents of the lessons, can I? If I gave these lasses the same trainin' I gave ye lot back when ye started, their bodies would've broken in less than three days."
"...Eh?"
Their bodies would have broken in three days? Did we really receive such brutal training?
"What, ye didn't realize? Normally, one wouldn't give a beginner such high-density trainin'. 'Twould only break the body."
"..."
"Hirose-kun aside, the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl were beginners, after all. Strength and stamina notwithstanding, yer bodies weren't built for martial arts yet. The reason I made ye do nothin' but swings and forms for so long at first was to drill the movements of the arts into yer bones. 'Twould have been dangerous to learn applications before that was finished."
"That's true. For about the first week, we did nothing but practice swings and forms," I mused.
"Without stamina, ye can't properly maintain the sword swings or the basic forms I taught ye. To let yer form collapse is to force a burden on yer body. If ye forced yerselves to continue while yer form was fallin' apart, ye'd end up with permanent injuries. At that stage, yer stamina was already far beyond that of ordinary folk, so I could cram several months' worth of basic practice into a single week."
Juzo-san reminisced fondly, but Hiiragi-san and my faces twitched at the revelation. To think we were given such reckless instruction... When we both turned our glares toward Yuji—who surely must have known the situation—he pointedly looked away.
"Yuji..."
"Hirose-kun..."
"W-well... look, we're only who we are today because of that hardship, right? Like they say, 'all's well that ends well'..."
" "..." "
"I'm sorry."
Crushed by the weight of our silent judgment, Yuji lowered his head and apologized. Good grief.
Juzo-san, who had been watching our exchange with amusement, brought the conversation back to the girls.
"Well, since these lasses don't have the inhuman stamina ye lot have, I'll have 'em train moderately. I'll focus on their mental attitude until they start divin' into dungeons."
"...Please don't overdo it and break them, okay?"
"Of course. Unlike ye lot, these lasses aren't made of iron."
I wondered just where we stood in Juzo-san's estimation. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know the answer.
"More importantly, how long are ye lot goin' to stand there? Hurry up and change into yer trainin' clothes."
"Ah, sorry."
We quickly stepped up into the dojo and headed for the changing room.
When we emerged, Mika and Saori-chan were sitting with their backs against the dojo wall, sipping tea. I assumed Juzo-san had prepared it for them.
"Are you two okay?" I asked.
"Ah, Onii-chan... yeah. I'm okay, somehow."
"Yes. I don't think I can move just yet... but I'm alright."
Their breathing had steadied, though it was clear they were still drained of all strength. A bit of rest would probably fix that.
"We're going to start our training now. Just take it easy and watch us," I told them.
"...Okay."
"...Yes."
I gave them a nod and moved to the center of the dojo where Juzo-san was waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Mm. Where are Yuji and the Hiiragi girl?"
"They should be out any second."
"I see. By the way, Kokonoe boy. How were things at school?"
"It's moving along," I replied, giving him a summary of our visit to the staff room.
"...And so, for now, everything seems fine except for the fact that the Advisor is still undecided. I'm scheduled to talk with a candidate tomorrow."
"I see."
"The candidate we were introduced to is a new teacher, but since she's an economics graduate, she should have at least some knowledge of entrepreneurship. My only concern is that since she isn't one of our regular teachers, I don't know anything about her character."
"Well, there's nothin' for it but to judge for yerself when ye meet her face-to-face. I hope things work out."
"I hope so too."
Still, I wondered if a teacher would actually accept a role that basically amounted to unpaid overtime. In terms of actual activity, the burden would be lighter than most clubs, but... I just hoped she'd say yes.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Sorry we're late."
As I was talking with Juzo-san, Yuji and Hiiragi-san joined us.
"Now then, since everyone's here... shall we begin?"
"Yes."
Juzo-san stood up and reached for a wooden sword hanging on the wall.
"First, a light match for a warm-up. Is it Yuji's turn today?"
"Yeah."
Yuji retrieved a short wooden sword modeled after a kodachi from the opposite wall and squared off against Juzo-san. Hiiragi-san and I grabbed our wooden sword and spear, respectively, and backed away toward the wall where Mika and Saori-chan were resting.
I offered a final warning to the exhausted girls.
"I know you're tired, but don't take your eyes off their match. It's dangerous."
"...Dangerous?"
"Is it dangerous even if we're just watching?"
In their state of fatigue, they didn't seem to grasp the weight of my words. I decided to be blunt.
"During the match, Juzo-san might throw kunai at you, so stay on your guard."
"...Eh?"
"Kunai?"
"In a dungeon, stray shots from other monsters can fly at you while you're fighting something else," I explained. "This is training to ensure you never let your guard down, even when you aren't the one fighting. They're made of soft resin, but they'll still hurt like hell if they hit you."
Realizing I wasn't joking, Mika and Saori-chan forced their weary bodies to sit up straight and began to watch the match between Yuji and Juzo-san with renewed intensity.