Having finished our meeting with Hashimoto-sensei, the three of us headed to Yuji’s house, where Mika and the others were waiting. With the club formation procedures finally behind us, our footsteps felt light.
"Now we can finally start our activities as an official school-sanctioned organization."
"Yeah. Depending on our showing at the sports festival at the end of the month, we might even be able to settle things before summer vacation."
"I agree," Yukino-san said. "That would be for the best. If we let this drag into summer vacation, the opposition will only have time to bolster their forces, and things will get messy."
"Bolster their forces, huh..."
Hearing Hiiragi-san's words, I could see it clearly: the Repeating Students spending all summer diving into dungeons to amass funds and combat power, then aggressively expanding their influence among the first-years the moment the new semester began.
I really didn't like the sound of that. Settle it before summer—that was definitely the way to minimize the headache.
"Well, it's not like we can do anything right now, though."
"We haven't proven ourselves yet," Yukino-san added. "Unless we show what we're capable of, they won't recognize us as a rival power."
"True. Even if we declare ourselves an opposing organization, no one's going to join if our backing doesn't seem solid..."
Regardless of our actual combat strength, we were just a new organization with zero track record in the eyes of the school. We were a world apart in terms of scale and influence from the Repeating Students, who had been active since April and already held significant sway over the freshmen.
People tended to gravitate toward rumors and numbers rather than actual ability.
"Which means it really does come down to the impression we make at the sports festival."
"Yes. At the very least, we have to prove that we're more capable than the core members of the Repeating Students."
We all let out a collective sigh. Proving we were better than the Repeating Students was synonymous with publicly declaring that we were the strongest group in the school.
"Noguchi and his group will probably get involved..."
"Right. As of now, Noguchi's group is considered the top explorer team in the school..."
"Noguchi-kun, huh... I haven't heard many good things about him lately, either..."
We thought back to Noguchi, who had been in the same class as us last year.
The group led by Noguchi was currently recognized as the school's most capable explorer team. Word was they had recently passed the 20th floor of the nearest dungeon. To us, twenty floors was nothing special, but for ordinary students doubling as explorers, that dive depth was apparently extraordinary. It had turned him into something of a local celebrity.
"The school's top explorer, huh..."
"I bet that title sounds incredibly sweet to Noguchi."
"I'm sure... It's certainly a title one could get drunk on."
As the thought crossed my mind, I shook my head to clear the budding headache.
"Which is exactly why he’ll see us as a threat. We’re essentially trying to strip that title away from him."
"Yeah," Yuji agreed. "It would be one thing if a known rival overtook him, but if a couple of upstarts who weren't even on his radar suddenly surpassed him? Noguchi would be absolutely livid."
Currently, there were three main explorer groups competing for the top spot: Noguchi’s, plus one from the second-years and one from the third-years. They were constantly jockeying for position, trying to out-dive one each other.
Noguchi and his team had only claimed the top spot recently, having spent the entire Golden Week period focused solely on dungeon exploration.
"On top of that, we turned down Noguchi-kun's invitation last year," Hiiragi-san noted. "And we did it by telling him we weren't interested in being explorers."
"He'll think we lied to him just so we could look down on him from a position of superiority. It wouldn't be a stretch for him to think that way."
"In that case, he’s definitely going to have it out for us..."
I recalled the click of the tongue Noguchi let out when he left after trying to recruit us. He looked like a refreshing guy on the surface, but he was definitely the type to hold a grudge.
Even if he didn't take direct action, he seemed like the type to pull petty stunts behind the scenes.
"Anyway, why don't we set the Noguchi issue aside for now and focus on the sports festival?"
Yukino-san and I agreed with Yuji's suggestion to postpone the trouble. Since we didn't know for sure if Noguchi would turn hostile, the Repeating Student Countermeasures were the priority—even if the other problem was likely to become a headache later.
We continued walking toward Yuji's house in silence.
When we arrived at the dojo, however, it was surprisingly quiet. At this time of day, Mika and Saori-chan should still have been training under Juzo-san.
"Did they already go home?"
"Who knows? But it's weird for it to be this quiet..."
"We'll find out if we just go in."
Leaving Yuji and me to wonder, Hiiragi-san opened the door and stepped inside. We hurriedly followed her.
Inside the dojo, we found Mika and Saori-chan, already changed into their tracksuits, sitting respectfully before Juzo-san.
"...So you're back."
"We're home... Wait, what are you doing, Old Man?"
Noticing us, Juzo-san turned his gaze away from the girls. I caught a hint of exasperation in his eyes as he looked at us.
"What? I was simply listening to the girls' concerns."
"Concerns, huh..."
"Now, don't just stand there. Come over and sit."
"O-Oh, okay."
Cutting Yuji's greeting short, Juzo-san signaled for us to join them. A bit bewildered, we grabbed cushions from the corner and sat down beside Mika and Saori-chan.
"Now that everyone is here, let us hold a review session regarding the girls' first dive yesterday."
"O-Oh. Sure."
Under Juzo-san's direction, we began reflecting on yesterday’s exploration.
We started by explaining the events from our perspective. It took a little while, but since we had already briefed Shintaro-san and the others yesterday, we were able to lay out the situation for Juzo-san fairly efficiently.
"I see. Next, let us hear from Kokonoe’s sister and her friend."
"Y-Yes! Um, well..."
Taking the floor, Mika and Saori-chan began their own account, speaking haltingly about the exploration from their point of view.
It took about twice as long as our explanation, but eventually, they finished.
Juzo-san sat in silence for a long moment, deep in thought, before finally speaking.
"First, I shall commend you all for returning from the dungeon safely and without injury."
The three of us let out small sighs of relief. Juzo-san's silent contemplation carried a heavy, intimidating weight.
"However, after hearing both sides, it is clear that minor mistakes were scattered throughout the trip."
"Yeah, we know. We're aware of that much ourselves."
"And what exactly are you 'aware' of?" Juzo-san pressed.
"Eh? Um... the failure to share info beforehand—like checking the IC card balance—and not double-checking our equipment, like the telescopic mirror..."
"...Is that all? Do you two share Yuji's opinion?"
Hiiragi-san and I nodded, indicating our agreement with Yuji's assessment.
Juzo-san let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Good grief... You three, your perspective is skewed. You must be more careful."
"H-Huh...?"
The three of us tilted our heads, unable to grasp what he was getting at.
Seeing our confusion, Juzo-san began to elaborate.
"Listen. While the points Yuji raised are certainly mistakes that need immediate correction, the biggest problem is your perception of the situation."
"...Our perception?"
"Indeed. How did you three view the girls' battle?"
"How? Well..."
As Juzo-san asked, we recalled Mika and Saori-chan’s fight against the monsters.
Both had dodged the horn rabbit's initial charge perfectly, and they had delivered the finishing blows once I immobilized the targets. Aside from Mika failing to kill hers in one hit, was there really a problem?
"...From those looks on your faces, it seems you still don't see it."
"It's not about the fact that Mika-chan missed the vital spot... is it?"
"Of course not. Even if it is a monster, no one is unshaken when taking a life for the first time. There is no issue with the fact that Kokonoe’s sister hesitated and struck the torso because she could not bring herself to aim for the vitals. And of course, there was no problem with Kishida’s daughter’s actions, either."
When Juzo-san mentioned that no one can strike a vital spot without hesitation on their first try, Saori-chan’s shoulders trembled and her body stiffened for a second, but his following words seemed to let the tension drain out of her.
After all, Saori-chan actually had pierced a vital spot on her first try.
"Then... what was the problem?"
"You truly don't see it... Girls. What was the thing that bothered you most during the fight?"
Mika and Saori-chan remained silent.
"Now, there is no need to be shy. These three need your honest impressions right now."
Urged by Juzo-san, Mika and Saori-chan shared a look before speaking up hesitantly.
"Um, you see... the thing that really bothered us was having to drive a spear into a monster that wasn't moving at all..."
"We know intellectually that finishing off an immobilized enemy is the safest way," Saori-chan added, "but..."
"Ah!"
The realization hit the three of us simultaneously. We finally saw the gap in our perception.
Yes. Forcing beginners to deliver a finishing blow to a monster that was completely helpless was our mistake.
"...You see it now?"
"Yeah. That was probably quite a cruel thing to ask of a total beginner."
"The method you chose was undoubtedly correct in terms of their physical safety," Juzo-san said. "However, presenting a completely immobilized monster to someone about to take their first life is going too far. The psychological hurdle is simply too high. When an enemy is neutralized, even a veteran combatant might lose their focus for a split second. Expecting a beginner to execute a defenseless enemy in that state is a tall order. Since you had plenty of support—veterans who could have stepped in at a moment's notice—you should have let the girls handle the fight themselves from start to finish."
Under Juzo-san's critique, we collectively hung our heads.
"I understand your desire to keep them from getting hurt, but you were being far too overprotective."
It seemed our desire to protect them had led us to take the worst possible approach for a first battle.
Now that it was pointed out, it was obvious. The tactic I had used—the Hot Sauce Attack—would have been much better suited for their second or third trip. Once they had already crossed the hurdle of taking a life.
"Were you perhaps a bit too influenced by the training you did with Genya?"
"...That's probably it."
We had to admit he was right. The training we’d received from Genya-san could be summed up in one phrase: "Extract the escort target from danger without letting them suffer a single scratch." Without a single scratch...
With that realization, the three of us bowed deeply to Mika and Saori-chan.
"I'm sorry, Mika, Saori-chan. Our thinking was shallow, and we made things harder for you than they needed to be."
"I'm sorry. We completely mishandled the situation."
"I'm so sorry. I should have realized if I'd just thought back to how I felt in the beginning."
Our sudden apologies sent Mika and Saori-chan into a panic. They scrambled to get us to raise our heads.
"O-Onii-chan?! Stop that!"
"Yuji-san, Yukino-san, please look up!"
After a moment, we complied and raised our heads.
"It was a shock at first, but we're really not that bothered by it anymore," Mika said.
"She's right," Saori-chan added. "It's thanks to you all being there that we were able to explore the dungeon without getting hurt. We're grateful, not angry. There's absolutely no reason for you to bow your heads and apologize."
"I see... Thank you."
We felt a wave of relief, followed by deep gratitude. If things had gone differently, we might have left them with lasting trauma. Fortunately, there were no signs of that yet. We would have to think much more carefully about our actions from now on.
Once Juzo-san’s review session was over, we showed the girls the Club Formation Permit we had received from the Student Council. The two of them cheered at the sight of the document, but beneath their excitement, their expressions also showed the resolve to face the coming trouble—the Repeating Student problem.
Starting the day after tomorrow, our countermeasures would begin in earnest.