Once the last class of the day ended, the three of us waited a short while before heading back to the staff room. We were there to have Hirasaka-sensei introduce us to a potential faculty advisor.
After a quick greeting, we stepped inside and spoke to Hirasaka-sensei, who was busy organizing paperwork at his desk.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. So, Hirasaka-sensei, where is the teacher you mentioned?"
"Hm? Ah... it looks like she isn't back yet."
Without standing up, Hirasaka-sensei craned his neck to scan the room.
"You're welcome to wait here, but what do you want to do? I planned for the discussion to take place in the consultation room and already reserved it... do you want to head over there first?"
I hesitated for a moment, but then nodded.
"Yes. Let's do that."
I readily agreed. Honestly, I didn’t want to linger in the staff room any longer than necessary if I didn't have business there. Looking at Yuji and Hiiragi-san, they didn't seem to have any objections; they clearly felt the same way.
"Alright. I'll let her know you've moved when she gets back. Take the key and head over. You shouldn't have to wait long."
"Thank you, we'll do that. Excuse us."
We gave a slight bow and left Hirasaka-sensei. Before exiting the staff room, I grabbed the key to the consultation room from the rack by the door.
Since the consultation room was on the same floor as the staff room, it took less than a minute to get there. I unlocked the door and found a simple setup: a few folding tables and half a dozen cheap metal chairs.
"I've never been in the consultation room before, but it's quite sparse, isn't it?"
"Well, it's just a place for talking. It doesn't really need fancy decor, does it?"
"True. As long as it has the bare minimum for a meeting, it's enough."
We set our bags on a table and sat down. The cushions on these folding chairs were paper-thin. My rear was probably going to start aching if this meeting went on for too long.
"So, I wonder what this teacher is like?"
"When I asked some friends who have her for class, they said she's a new hire—very serious and earnest," Hiiragi-san noted.
"Heh."
An earnest teacher, huh? Since she was new, she was probably full of enthusiasm and fighting her way through the daily grind. I just hoped she wasn't overworking herself. A quick search online had shown me that teaching was a grueling profession; the rate of resignation due to illness was considerably higher than in other fields.
Listening to Hiiragi-san’s rumors, I found myself worrying about the health of this potential advisor I hadn't even met yet.
After about ten minutes of idle chatter, the door suddenly swung open, and a young woman stepped inside.
She looked so fresh-faced that she still carried the air of a university student, as if she hadn't quite settled into the role of a teacher yet.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting! Are you the students Hirasaka-sensei mentioned? The ones who want to start a new club?"
Seeing us seated, she offered a smile and a quick confirmation from the doorway.
"Yes. I'm Kokonoe, a second-year."
"I'm Hiiragi."
"I'm Hirose."
We stood up and gave brief introductions with a bow. The teacher responded in kind.
"I'm Sayaka Hashimoto. I teach civics to the second-years. It’s nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too!" we replied in unison.
"Now that we've introduced ourselves, please, sit down."
Urged by Hashimoto-sensei, we returned to our seats, and she sat down opposite us.
Now, let the negotiations begin.
"So, you're looking for a faculty advisor for a new club, and you’d like me to fill that role... is that right?"
"Yes....What exactly did Hirasaka-sensei tell you?"
First, I had to align our perspectives. If we started off on different pages, it would be a hassle to correct it later.
"Hirasaka-sensei said you wanted to form a club for entrepreneurship research. It’s quite unusual for high schoolers to be interested in that sort of thing."
Hashimoto-sensei gave us a look of genuine curiosity. I supposed that was fair. Usually, even if a high school student was interested in a career, they wouldn't jump straight to entrepreneurship. I was well aware that our proposed activities were a bit out there.
"We think so too, but... given the current state of the world, we believe that high schoolers starting businesses won't be that rare for much longer."
"Especially with how drastically society has changed since the dungeons appeared... we expect the number of high school entrepreneurs—full-time explorers—to steadily increase," Hiiragi-san added.
"We think students in our school will eventually be forced into entrepreneurship out of necessity," Yuji Chimed in.
Hearing our reasoning, Hashimoto-sensei’s expression turned serious. As expected of an economics graduate, she caught our drift without needing the details spelled out.
"...When you say 'forced by necessity,' are you referring to explorer income?"
"Yes. There are many students in this school with explorer licenses, right? Eventually, they're going to hit the issue of exceeding the exemption for dependents limit. Last year, the explorer exams were held so late that it was probably rare, but this year, a lot of students are going to surpass that limit."
"...You might be right, Kokonoe-kun."
"We're active explorers ourselves, and we've already registered as sole proprietors," Hiiragi-san explained.
"You've... already started your own businesses?"
At Hiiragi-san's words, Hashimoto-sensei’s eyes widened, and she stared at us in disbelief. I guess it was a natural reaction to being told a group of teenagers had already filed business registrations.
"Yes. It was mostly out of necessity, though."
"Our income from exploring was higher than we expected. No matter how we calculate it, our earnings this year won't fit within the range of our parents' tax exemptions."
"We found something rare—a skill scroll—while exploring. When we cashed it in, the amount was surprisingly high. I honestly can't tell if we're lucky or unlucky..."
As we all admitted to the reality of our business status with wry smiles, Hashimoto-sensei let out a heavy sigh. That was a bit much to do in front of your students, Sensei.
"You kids are... incredibly capable, aren't you?"
"It was just luck. We happened to find something rare, that's all."
"Even so... to exceed the exemption for dependents limit, you have to be earning over a million yen."
"Well, yes."
Hashimoto-sensei sighed again. It seemed our income touched a nerve with her.
"I used to go to dungeons with a party of friends back in university... though I quit pretty quickly."
"Did someone in your party get hurt?"
"No. Fortunately, none of us suffered any major injuries."
"Then why did you quit?"
She fell silent for a moment, hesitating, before finally sharing her reason for retiring.
"...Do you remember the news about the PK incidents inside the dungeons? Some of the victims were students at my university."
"Wait... really?"
I wondered if she meant Miyano-san and his group.
"It's not like I was close to them, but hearing that students from my own school were targeted... it changes things. And when I heard they were attacked in the same dungeon we used? I just couldn't bring myself to keep diving like nothing had happened."
"..."
"Of course, I was about to graduate and start working anyway, so it was a good time to retire. My party members were all scattering across the country for their new jobs, too. We couldn't have stayed together even if we wanted to."
Hashimoto-sensei spoke about her retirement in a light tone, but we all did our best to keep our faces neutral as we thought of Miyano-san. Even for those not directly involved, the impact of the PK incidents had been massive. I wondered how many explorers had quit because of them.
"So, I think I understand a bit of the hardship involved in earning money as an explorer."
"I see..."
"I hear that now there are no more entry limits or excessive aggregation, so you encounter monsters more often, but the buyback prices for drops have been falling, right? To be certain you'll earn enough to exceed the exemption limit while being a high school student—with all the time constraints that implies—is proof that you're excellent explorers."
When she put it like that, she was probably right. Aside from long breaks, a full-time high schooler can only really go to a dungeon on the weekends. Our school even has classes on Saturday mornings, so Sunday is the only day left for diving. Under those conditions, if you don't find a high-value item like a skill scroll, earning enough to hit the tax limit by just grinding monsters on the shallow floors would be an immense struggle.
Once Hashimoto-sensei’s story about her explorer days reached a natural conclusion, we finally got down to business.
"So, regarding the advisor role... could you tell me about the club's activities? I'd like to hear the details before I give you an answer."
I pulled a piece of paper from my bag and handed it to her. It was the club formation application I’d received from Hirasaka-sensei yesterday. Every section except for the advisor's signature was already filled out.
"Let’s see here... Wait, what?"
Hashimoto-sensei scanned the document and froze.
"No morning practice, weekends off, activities end at 5:00 PM on weekdays..."
"Since it isn't an athletic club, there’s no risk of members getting injured during club hours."
"...No injuries... liability... apologies... countermeasures... reports..."
"We'll present our results at the school festival as our activity report, so you won't have to chaperone us to any competitions or tournaments."
"Two days off every week... guaranteed..."
"Also, we’ll cover all the costs for supplies and equipment ourselves."
"No out-of-pocket expenses... I see."
She stared at the application, muttering to herself under her breath. For a new teacher fresh out of college, these conditions must have sounded like a dream—especially since she was currently the assistant advisor for an athletic club.
Seeing her nodding repeatedly while staring at the paper, I felt like the answer was already decided, but I checked anyway.
"Hashimoto-sensei... will you accept the advisor position?"
"!"
For a split second, it looked like she was going to shout "Yes!" but she clapped a hand over her mouth just in time. After taking a few deep breaths to compose herself, she spoke again.
"Um, could I ask a few questions before I give you a final answer?"
"Of course. What would you like to know?"
"First, the activity hours. The application says you'll only be active for about an hour on weekdays... is that really okay? Most other clubs go for at least two."
"Yes. We have other responsibilities outside of school, and given the purpose of the club, that should be more than enough time."
Hashimoto-sensei tilted her head. I supposed that from an outside perspective, it seemed like a lot of work to start a club just to use it for one hour a day.
"The purpose? Is there a reason other than what’s written here?"
"Yes. In fact, this is the primary reason we're starting the club."
"Could you explain?"
"Right. Well, to start..."
I laid out the whole situation for her: the aggressive recruitment by the Repeating Student explorers targeting the first-years, the anxiety over their faction’s rapid expansion after Golden Week, and the worries about Mika and the others’ future school life. I glossed over the more sensitive details, but it still took over ten minutes to explain everything.
"I see... so that's why you want to do this. Sigh..."
By the time I finished, Hashimoto-sensei let out a sigh so heavy it seemed to carry the weight of her entire soul. It felt a bit unprofessional to do that in front of students, but I couldn't really blame her.
"I'm sorry for hiding such a complicated problem from you."
We bowed our heads slightly to apologize. We hadn't intended to trick her, but there was no denying we were trying to drag her into a messy situation.
"Don't apologize. If anything, we teachers are the ones who should be apologizing to you."
"Um... what do you mean?"
"The faculty is aware of the Repeating Students' problematic behavior. It's been brought up in staff meetings several times. But everything we know is just hearsay and rumors. We haven't caught them in the act, and we don't have any clear evidence. That's why it's been so hard for the disciplinary committee to take action."
So the teachers weren't oblivious. Just as I’d suspected, they lacked the evidence to make a move. The school couldn't exactly intervene in student drama without a solid reason.
"This is something we should be handling, and yet while we've been stalling... sigh, it's pathetic."
Hashimoto-sensei looked down, falling into a somber silence. It seemed her massive sigh earlier had been one of self-reproach. I doubt the faculty ever expected the repeating students to cause this much trouble; a delayed response was probably inevitable. Though, for the students being targeted, that was cold comfort.
Regardless, I had to move things along.
"Um, Hashimoto-sensei? You don't have to be so hard on yourself..."
"That's right, Sensei. Cheer up!"
If she stayed depressed, this was going to get awkward. As Hiiragi-san and I offered our encouragement, she finally looked up. Her expression was much clearer now, as if she had reached a resolution.
"You're right. Moping won't solve anything. Fine—I'll do it. I'll be your advisor."
"Wait... really?"
"I said I'll do it. I can't just leave the students to handle the Repeating Students' mess all on their own."
"Oh, uh... thank you? I think?"
"I look forward to working with you."
Caught off guard by her sudden enthusiasm, we were a bit dazed as Hashimoto-sensei held out her hand. One by one, we shook it. I suppose we’d officially achieved our goal.
"I'll sign the advisor section and submit the application myself. Midterms are coming up, so the official approval probably won't come until next month."
"I see. Thank you."
"Such a dry response! Oh well. Since this will be classified as a humanities club, we can apply for a special classroom to use as our clubroom. Do you have any preferences?"
"A clubroom..."
I hadn't even thought that far ahead. I looked at Yuji and Hiiragi-san, but they both shook their heads.
"We don't have any particular preference."
"Alright. I'll pick something out for you, then. Is that okay?"
"Yes. Please do."
With that, the advisor issue was settled. Now we just had to wait for the school’s permission.
It was getting late; we needed to head to the dojo. I wondered if Mika and the others were surviving their training.