After having Hashimoto-sensei check the prototype, we used the printer in the faculty room to run off copies of the poster. We spent the rest of the day putting them up, primarily around the first-year building. The very next day, during lunch break, the three of us—Yuji, Hiiragi-san, and I—received a summons to the Student Council Room. Just as before, Minashiro-san had come to our classroom during the break after third period to deliver the message.
As a result, we finished our lunch as quickly as possible and headed toward the Student Council Room with somewhat heavy footsteps.
"I wonder what they want with us?" I muttered.
"Who knows... but we only just put up those recruitment posters yesterday," Yuji replied. "It’s probably related to that."
"I agree," Hiiragi-san added. "I can't think of any other reason why we'd be called in right now."
"I guess you're right..."
We spent the walk speculating on the reason for the summons. Honestly, we hadn't even officially started our activities yet—we were still just in the recruitment phase. I didn't think we had done anything to warrant a sudden trip to see the council.
Eventually, we stood before the door of the Student Council Room, feeling slightly apprehensive. After taking a breath to steady himself, Yuji knocked.
"This is Hirose, second year. We've come as requested. May we enter?"
"Come in. The door is unlocked."
"Excuse us."
With Yuji in the lead, Hiiragi-san and I entered the room. Inside, five students were surrounded by paperwork, eating their lunch as they worked.
"Welcome. Sorry for the sudden summons," Hisamatsu-senpai said.
"No, it's fine. We didn't have any other plans, so it's no trouble," Yuji replied.
"I'm glad to hear that."
Yuji and Hisamatsu-senpai exchanged polite, diplomatic smiles.
Still, I couldn't help but feel they could have given us a little more notice. Summoning someone during their lunch break on the very same day felt a bit excessively urgent.
"Well, since we don't have much time, I'd like to get straight to the point, if that's all right?"
"Yes, of course," Yuji said. "What is the reason for this sudden call?"
"The reason I called you here is this."
As expected, Hisamatsu-senpai produced one of the posters we had finished and posted just yesterday.
"I apologize for not getting your permission first, but I had one of our members remove this so I could use it for this discussion."
"That's not a problem, but... is something wrong with it?"
"From the Student Council's perspective, we need to know your intentions. Why did you put this poster up?"
"Our reasons for putting it up...?"
"Yes. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but there is a certain problem currently unfolding among the first-year students..."
A problem. So the Student Council did have some grasp of the trouble the Repeating Student Group was causing. As if to confirm my guess, Hisamatsu-senpai began to explain the situation to us.
Once she finished the overview, she let out a small sigh.
"When I heard that you had put up a poster like this in the middle of all that... I was truly frantic."
Hisamatsu-senpai pressed her hand to her forehead and shook her head, as if she were warding off a migraine. The other four council members stopped their work and looked at us with flat, judging glares. Their eyes clearly said: Why are you starting even more trouble?
Given the design of the poster, I suppose it was inevitable that people might interpret it as preparation for a full-blown school conflict. In other words, we hadn't shared enough information beforehand. We’d failed to lay the proper groundwork with the administration.
Under their collective, accusing gaze, the three of us began to feel a bit awkward.
"I felt we had to question your intent immediately. That’s why I brought you here on such short notice."
"I... I see. That makes sense."
"So? What were you trying to achieve by putting this up?"
Hisamatsu-senpai fixed us with a sharp look, demanding the truth. Yuji, Hiiragi-san, and I exchanged a quick nod, and Yuji stepped forward to explain on our behalf.
"First, let me say that we are already well aware of the situation with the first-years."
"Oh, so you knew... In that case, why would you do this? You must have realized that putting up a poster like this would provoke the Repeating Student Group and their targets. It’s obvious it could spark a feud."
"It was intended to spark a feud."
"...What!?"
Hisamatsu-senpai’s eyes flew open. The other council members were equally shocked, their mouths agape.
"Wait, wait a minute! Your goal is to cause a feud? What on earth are you thinking!?"
Hisamatsu-senpai was momentarily stunned, but she recovered quickly, slamming her hands onto her desk as she pressed Yuji for an answer. The atmosphere in the room turned sharp and hostile in an instant.
Well, taken at face value, it was a pretty dangerous thing to say. I couldn't blame them for reacting that way.
"I mean exactly what I said," Yuji replied in a calm tone, trying to settle the room. "However, we aren't looking for a physical confrontation. Could you just listen to us for a moment?"
Despite Yuji's measured words, the council members had lost their cool. They began shouting over each other, bombarding us with accusations.
Realizing that words alone wouldn't calm them, Yuji let out a small sigh and brought his hands together in front of his chest. He clapped once—a sharp, resonant kashiwade. The sound was incredibly loud, like a firecracker going off in the enclosed room. The sudden noise made the council members jump and fall silent.
"...Will you please calm down? I am going to explain myself, so please save your questions for the end."
"......"
Shocked into silence by the kashiwade, the council members looked at Yuji. When they saw him holding his hands apart as if ready to deliver a second clap, they all nodded obediently.
"Thank you. Now, let me explain. As I said, we are aware of the problem with the first-year repeating students. We know because Kokonoe’s younger sister is a first-year at this school."
"Hello," I added with a small nod.
Yuji patted my shoulder as he clarified our source of information. Honestly, if Mika hadn't been a student here, we probably still wouldn't have known what was going on.
"Because of that, we were asked for help. They wanted to know if anything could be done about the Repeating Students' tyrannical behavior."
"My sister first consulted us at the end of April... just before Golden Week," I noted.
At the mention of April, the council members' eyes widened again, though they remained quiet.
Wait. Don't tell me...
"If you don't mind me asking, when did the Student Council first realize there was a problem?" Yuji asked, his brow furrowing as he sensed their reaction.
The council members looked away awkwardly. Finally, Hisamatsu-senpai spoke up, looking embarrassed.
"...The council only grasped the situation at the end of May. We received a tip-off from a first-year student just before the midterm exams."
"...The end of May? That's quite recent."
To think they hadn't known until then... they were way behind the curve. By the end of May, the Repeating Students had already used the funds they’d earned during Golden Week to aggressively expand their influence.
"...It’s not much of an excuse, but the current Student Council doesn't have any first-year officers. We only heard about the first-years through vague rumors."
"Did the teachers not say anything?" Yuji asked. "By the time we started moving, the faculty seemed to have a decent handle on the situation."
"Really?"
"Yes. We started planning right after the Golden Week holidays, and the teachers we spoke to were already aware of the problem."
Hashimoto-sensei had mentioned it was an agenda item at the faculty meeting. They must have known the score since April. Yet, for some reason, that information hadn't been passed down to the Student Council.
"Why didn't they tell us...?" Hisamatsu-senpai murmured, her expression full of regret. "If we had known, we could have taken action so much sooner."
It was a blow to her pride. Being told the council had been left out of the loop was effectively being told they weren't considered reliable. The other members looked equally bitter.
"Well, setting that aside for now, may I continue?" Yuji asked, ignoring their sour moods.
"...Yes, I apologize. Please go on."
"Thank you. To start with..."
Having regained their attention, Yuji began a clinical explanation of everything from Mika's initial consultation to the eventual formation of our club. The council members listened in silence.
Once he finished the story, Hisamatsu-senpai let out a long sigh.
"So, you were already moving to counter the repeating students before we even knew there was an issue?"
"Yes. Though we only officially started our recruitment yesterday. With the midterm exams in the middle of it all, the preparation took longer than expected. Of course, if those repeating students had failed their exams because they were too busy in the dungeon, the whole idea for the club would have been dropped."
Honestly, that would have been the easiest solution. Unfortunately, even if it was just barely, every member of that group had managed to pass.
When Yuji voiced his disappointment, Hisamatsu-senpai let out a dry chuckle and nodded in sympathy.
"I understand how the club came to be. But you still haven't explained your earlier comment. What did you mean by 'sparking a feud'?"
"I mean we want to spark a public debate. The first-years are currently too afraid of the Repeating Students' strength to speak up for themselves. Since no one stands up to them, the repeating students keep getting more arrogant. I believe that lack of pushback is the root cause."
"I see... because they never hear any complaints or protests, they feel they can get away with anything," Hisamatsu-senpai mused. "And the teachers can't easily intervene in student-to-student issues as long as no school rules or laws are being broken."
"Exactly."
That was the crux of the problem. Most first-years were so intimidated that no one would voice their grievances publicly. No matter how much people whispered behind their backs, it wouldn't reach people that conceited. Not unless someone confronted them directly and forced them to face reality.
"I believe there are plenty of first-years who are fed up with them. There's enough resentment to explode if given a spark. But if that explosion takes the form of a physical brawl, it’ll be a disaster. That’s why..."
"You’re going to provide a different outlet?"
"Yes. If we frame the protest as a demonstration backed by us and the school, we can prevent it from devolving into a fight."
If things turned violent, there was a real risk of people getting seriously hurt.
"Once the protests start, I expect the Repeating Student Group to start crumbling as the more sensible members realize what’s happening."
"True," Hisamatsu-senpai agreed. "The students who only joined for the benefits will be the first to run once they see a large-scale protest forming."
Most people were only with the group because they thought they’d gain something. If it started to look like they’d lose more than they’d gain, they’d jump ship. Eventually, only the core leaders and a few people who were too far gone to back out would remain. At that point, their influence would vanish.
Hisamatsu-senpai nodded along with Yuji's logic.
"But are you sure about this? If you do this, they’ll resent you. They might even try to start a fight with you directly."
She looked genuinely worried about the potential fallout. It was a logical concern.
"That is a possibility. And that’s exactly why that poster serves as a deterrent."
"...That poster?"
"Yes. Do you recognize the monster in the photo?"
"Um... it’s a bear, isn't it?"
"It’s a big bear. It’s a bear-type monster that only appears from the 25th floor of the dungeon onward."
While the significance didn't seem to register with Hisamatsu-senpai, Minashiro-san and Jojima-senpai both gasped.
"...The 25th floor?"
"Hi-Hisamatsu-senpai... the 25th floor is significantly deeper than the floor reached by the party currently considered the strongest in our school," Minashiro-san stammered.
"She’s right, Hisamatsu," Jojima-senpai added. "If what they’re saying is true, then these three are actually the strongest explorers in the entire school..."
"Wait, what? Really!?"
The entire Student Council turned to look at us with expressions of total disbelief.
Well, I can't say I blame them.