With morning classes finished, we met up with Mika and Saori-chan to grab lunch at the school cafeteria. Since it was Saturday, there weren’t many students around. Usually, the place was so crowded during meal times that securing a table for even a few people was a struggle, but today we were able to comfortably claim a spot for all five of us.
Unfortunately, the low turnout on Saturdays meant the menu was limited to just two options: curry or udon.
“...So, that’s why you need to keep working hard on your practice swings for a while, too, Saori-chan.”
I spoke while bringing a spoonful of curry to my mouth, repeating the explanation about the importance of fundamentals that I’d given Mika yesterday.
“...Yes. If there’s a reason like that, then I’ll do my best with the swings.”
Saori-chan paused with her chopsticks poised over her udon, giving me a sincere nod as she took my words to heart.
“Well, you might get frustrated by the repetitive, monotonous movements, but if you don’t build a solid foundation, you’ll stumble later when you try to apply those skills. It sounds like Juzo-san is teaching you both very carefully, so I don’t think it’ll take too long before you move on to actual applications... Right, Yuji?”
I directed the conversation toward Yuji, who was quietly sipping his udon broth next to me. Realizing I was talking to him, Yuji set his bowl down on the table, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked at Saori-chan.
“Well, I haven’t actually seen the two of you practicing, so I can’t say for sure. But based on what I’ve heard, Daiki’s right—it probably won’t be long before you move on to more advanced training.”
“There you have it. You two, keep at it just a little longer.”
“Yes!”
“Oka—y!”
Saori-chan replied with a clear, firm tone, while Mika gave a lighthearted response, raising her hand slightly.
Two very different ways of responding... I thought to myself as I scooped up the last bite of curry from my plate.
While I waited for the girls to finish eating, Yuji and I sipped on some hot post-meal tea. That was when Saori-chan voiced a question she’d been sitting on.
“By the way, Onii-san, what’s happening with the club? It’s been a while since we signed those application forms, but I haven’t heard anything since...”
“Oh... did I not mention it? Hashimoto-sensei, the one who’s going to be our advisor, said the application itself will be brought up at the faculty meeting after midterm exams. Apparently, she’s currently laying the groundwork to secure a room for us. If we pass the review and get approval, the club should be officially formed by early June.”
Despite being busy with midterm prep, Hashimoto-sensei had been quite active on our behalf. Since exams were close, we students were restricted from entering the faculty room, and since we headed straight home after school, I hadn’t been able to talk to her for long since she wasn't one of my subject teachers. The details were a bit fuzzy.
I’d only heard the bit about securing a clubroom as a status update when I happened to run into Hashimoto-sensei in the hallway while moving to a lab for class the other day.
“Early June... So that means the club will be formed right before the sports festival?”
“Probably.”
The sports festival... If I recalled the school calendar correctly, it was scheduled for mid-June.
But what would this year’s sports festival even be like? Most of the second and third-year students now held explorer licenses, so the quality of the events was bound to be on a completely different level than last year. It wouldn't just be a festival; it would be a clash of superhumans.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, Hiiragi-san, who had finished eating and was dabbing her mouth with a tissue, spoke up.
“The sports festival, huh... Hey, Kokonoe-kun? Are we going to enter the inter-club relay?”
“The inter-club relay?”
“Yes. It was on the program for last year’s festival, wasn't it?”
“True. If we want to promote the existence of a newly formed club, entering the relay might not be a bad idea,” Yuji added.
Now that they mentioned it, entering the relay seemed like a viable plan.
Since I’d decided to act as a deterrent for Mika and Saori-chan against that group of repeating students, it was better to demonstrate our abilities publicly. If we wanted a stage where the entire student body would be watching, the sports festival was a perfect opportunity.
We obviously couldn't go all out, but leaving the favorite-to-win teams in the dust might provide just the right amount of impact.
“If the club is formed in time, maybe we should give it a shot...”
“You’re going to run in the relay?”
“Yeah. In terms of venues where the whole school is watching, it’ll definitely draw more attention than doing something at the school festival.”
Unlike the sports festival, students' attention tended to be divided during the school festival. Even with a popular stage event, some people would watch while others wouldn't. Conversely, everyone was required to be present at the grounds for the sports festival.
“If we draw attention in the relay, we might get more applicants. Plus, if we win, we’ll get a winner’s interview, so we can use that time to recruit,” Hiiragi-san suggested.
“It would also serve as pressure against those guys. If we show them our strength in a visible way, they’ll think twice about making a move.”
“Well, on the flip side, we’ll probably attract some annoying stares for a while...”
As far as downsides within the school went, that was about it. I didn't want to think too much about the potential impact outside of school, though.
“But, Onii-chan, considering our goal, the sports festival is basically our last chance to make a big impression before summer, right?”
“Yeah, that’s how it looks.”
The sports festival was the last opportunity before summer vacation to appeal to the whole school in an easy-to-understand way. It was better to drive a wedge in now, before the repeating students' team could solidify their foundation. If we waited until after summer vacation, the effect would be weak if they had already finished organizing their group.
“If we succeed at the sports festival, it’ll be easier to recruit the undecided first-years during the month before summer vacation starts,” Saori-chan noted.
“That’s true. And if things go well, we might even be able to recruit some undecided second-years, too,” Hiiragi-san added.
It would likely be difficult to recruit third-years, given they had university entrance exams and job hunting ahead of them.
“If that happens, the club's significance as a deterrent will increase.”
“Right. Then those guys will probably pipe down and stop picking fights with a club that has plenty of upperclassmen who outmatch them in strength.”
Mika and Saori-chan held hands, their expressions brightening. They must really find that group of repeating students annoying.
“Alright. We’re done eating, so shall we head out?”
“Yeah. We have a meeting time with Muroi-san, so we should get going soon.”
“Yes.”
“Mika, are you two heading to practice with Juzo-san right after this?”
“We’re planning to start around 14:00, so we’re going to go home once to drop off our bags.”
“I’m going home to drop my things off, too.”
“I see.”
Confirming our respective schedules, we took our finished trays to the return counter and left the cafeteria.
After parting ways with Mika and Saori-chan on the way home, we met up with Muroi-san in front of Yuji’s house.
“Muroi-san, thanks for having us again today.”
“Ah, same here.”
After a brief greeting, we climbed into the van and began the trip to the mountain training grounds. Since it was Saturday, the roads were a bit congested, so it took slightly longer than usual to arrive.
However, once we got there, we saw a sight different from the usual, and we all tilted our heads in confusion.
“Muroi-san... what’s with that truck?”
A large truck was parked in front of the prefab hut. Its side doors were open, as if it were in the middle of being unloaded.
“Oh, that’s the truck that brought the equipment we’re using for today’s training.”
“...Are those the traps Genya-san mentioned yesterday?”
“Yep. They’ve been bringing in and setting up the equipment since this morning. I think they should be finishing up soon.”
“...”
We were speechless. This was a much bigger deal than we had imagined.
What was with this level of enthusiasm...?
While we stared out the window in a daze, Muroi-san parked the car in a spot where it wouldn't interfere with the unloading.
“Alright, we’re here. The predecessor should be in the prefab hut, so go show your faces.”
“Oh, right. Thank you very much...”
We got out of the car and headed toward the hut, eyeing the truck being unloaded. Even a quick glance showed a massive mountain of boxes of all sizes. Just what on earth was inside those?
Feeling a sense of unease about the training to come, we knocked on the door of the prefab hut.
“It’s Hirose. Sorry we’re late.”
“Yeah, the door’s open. Come in.”
“Excuse us.”
Having received permission, we followed Yuji inside.
In the hut, besides Genya-san, there were several people who looked like disciples eating lunch boxes. Since I recognized a few of them from our previous sessions as the opposition, they had likely been helping with the trap installation.
“Hello, Genya-san.”
““Hello.””
“Ah, hello.”
We greeted Genya-san, who was drinking tea at a seat near the entrance.
“Genya-san, there’s a massive pile of gear outside. Is all of that traps?”
“Yes, that’s right. Though we won’t be using all of it in the next exercise.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. We’ll be using traps in the training sessions after this one as well, so we just had everything delivered at once. Besides, some of them are disposable. We included the replacements, which is why there’s such a mountain of gear.”
“...I see.”
Apparently, everything outside was indeed trap equipment. If all of that was being set up on the mountain... just what kind of mountain fortress were they building?
“They’re doing the final adjustments on the trap clusters right now, so have some tea and wait in an empty seat.”
“Oh, okay.”
Clusters? Since when were traps counted in clusters?
We bowed slightly to Genya-san and left him, putting our bags on an empty table and taking a seat. Somehow, I felt exhausted even before the training had started...
“Here is some tea for everyone.”
“Eh?...Oh, Ririka-san?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
As we sat down to catch our breath, Ririka brought over tea in paper cups. There was a faint smile on her face, looking as if she’d just pulled off a successful prank.
“Oh, um... thank you for the tea.”
““Thank you.””
“You’re welcome.”
Following Yuji’s slightly flustered thanks, Hiiragi-san and I hurriedly thanked her as well. We accepted the tea she offered.
“How was it? You must have been surprised by the mountain of gear outside.”
Ririka sat down at our table and brought up the equipment outside as if it were just small talk.
“Yes. That mountain of boxes definitely caught us off guard.”
“I’m sure. Even I’ve never seen that much trap equipment prepared at once before.”
“...Is that true?”
If even Ririka was surprised, just how much was there?
“Yes. Preparing that many requires a significant amount of money and effort. Setting aside the cost, getting them ready in such a short time isn't something you can do with a single phone call. Several of our family’s disciples even went to help the delivery company.”
Whoa, so that’s what happened...
Now that she mentioned it, it made sense. Trying to gather that many in such a short time would definitely lead to a labor shortage.
Wait... so even the disciples were mobilized to prepare for this.
“Everyone is grateful to you all for so readily parting with those high-grade recovery potions. That’s why they’re working so hard to help in any way they can.”
“Is that... so...”
“Yes.”
I didn’t know how to put it... but this gratitude felt a bit heavy.
The three of us involuntarily looked at each other, wearing unreadable expressions. We hadn’t accepted payment for the high-grade recovery potions as a trade-off for this training... but exactly how much was the cost for this exercise? Between labor and everything else, it felt like it could easily be in the tens of millions of yen. It wasn't going to exceed the market value of the recovery potions, was it?
“Oh, please don’t worry. Our family is covering all the costs for the training. I’ve already received Morito-san’s approval, so we will never bill you for the training expenses.”
“Oh, okay... thank you very much.”
““Thank you.””
Perhaps sensing our concern about the expenses from our expressions, Ririka gave us a reassuring smile and clearly stated they wouldn't be charging us. It was a relief, but... was this really okay?
Though bewildered, we bowed and thanked Ririka. I’d have to make sure to thank Genya-san and Morito-san later, too.
“Preparations are complete!”
Just as we were trying to take a breather with our tea, a man rushed into the hut and made a loud announcement. Hearing this, the disciples who had been eating and chatting in the hut began to file out.
“Well then, everyone. I’ll be heading out first, so please get changed and come outside.”
“Oh, yes.”
With that, Ririka left the hut, leaving just the three of us inside.
“Shall we get changed?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
Alright... it would be bad to keep them waiting, so we’d better change quickly and head out.