After reading until our time was up, we headed down to the first-floor locker rooms to change. As we descended, I noticed a restless, excited energy in the air that hadn't reached the reference room on the second floor.
Did something happen?
"The place seems a bit stirred up..."
"You’re right. I wonder what’s going on?"
We tilted our heads in confusion at the commotion as we made our way toward the locker rooms.
"Well, we'll wait here for you once we're changed," I said.
"Right, we'll be out as quickly as possible. Let's go, Mika-chan, Saori-chan."
"Okay!"
"Understood."
With Hiiragi-san in the lead, the girls disappeared into the women’s locker room.
Once they were inside, I turned to Yuji.
"Shall we?"
"Yeah."
The moment we stepped into the men’s locker room, we realized it was even noisier than the lobby. I wondered what all the fuss was about, but as I caught snippets of the chatter, my face instantly went stiff.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Yeah. Apparently, someone cleared the Advanced Zone today."
"Exactly. And they did it on their first try. Word is it was a pair of young guys."
"Whoa, 'young'? Like high schoolers like us?"
"Who knows? I didn't hear that much... but man, I'd love to meet them."
"Seriously. I'd want to ask them for tips on how to beat it."
Conversations like that were happening in every corner of the room. It was terrifying to realize that the whispers echoing through the space were entirely about us.
With my expression still frozen, I glanced at Yuji. I expected him to be just as rattled, but he was looking back at me with his usual, unbothered expression.
"...What?"
"No, I mean, 'what'?"
Yuji responded so casually that my voice came out a bit high-pitched.
"Don't let it get to you. Just act normal. If you're going to get shaken by this level of attention, your nerves won't hold up for what we're planning to do at school."
"Ah, right. Yeah, I guess..."
Yuji, you’ve got nerves of steel.
I watched with a gaze full of respect as Yuji walked calmly through the room toward the locker containing his belongings. I really needed to learn from that kind of fortitude.
Closing my eyes, I took a shallow, deep breath to steady myself. Then I opened them and followed Yuji with a firm stride.
"...You okay?"
"Yeah, more or less. Anyway, let's just change quickly and get out of here. This place feels incredibly awkward."
Ignoring the chatter about us, I opened my locker and began changing with practiced speed. I can't hear anything, I can't hear anything.
In less than five minutes, we had both changed back into our school uniforms.
"Alright! Let's go, Yuji!"
"...Hey, Daiki. Why don't we stay a bit longer? This would be a perfect training ground for building your mental fortitude."
"That might be true, but... isn't the difficulty level here a bit too high? Look, they were talking about us in the lobby too. Let’s try there instead."
It was honestly painful to be in a room where people were so clearly discussing us. I understood the need to get used to it, but I wanted to start somewhere a bit less intense.
"Well, fair enough. Shall we head to the lobby, then?"
"Yeah, let's go!"
I practically pushed Yuji by the back as I hurried out of the locker room.
When we reached the lobby, the buzz was still there, though it wasn't as concentrated as it had been in the changing room.
Still, compared to the locker room, this was much more manageable. Since the only information circulating was that we were a "pair of young men," the people gossiping were amusing themselves with wild speculations.
Some claimed we were former members of the Self-Defense Forces' special forces.
Others argued we were from a police tactical unit.
Some said we were the Dungeon Association's secret prodigies.
A few even whispered that we were cheating.
It was a total jumble—everything from complete nonsense to theories that were almost correct.
"Wow, there sure are some interesting stories flying around..."
"Sigh... Daiki. You're too shaken. You need to learn how to shelf your feelings. Acting like that is practically advertising that you've got something to hide."
"R-Right."
I’d never been the subject of rumors right in front of my face before, so I couldn't figure out how to process it. I wasn't very good at the "mental shelving" Yuji mentioned, and I couldn't quite settle down. Judging by Yuji's observation, I was the type whose agitation showed clearly in my behavior.
"For now, keep taking deep breaths and try to look at your agitated self objectively, from a step back. Once you get used to it, you'll be able to shelf your feelings naturally."
"U-Understood."
Following Yuji's advice, I focused on taking small, deep breaths while trying to view myself objectively. After about ten breaths, I could feel my panic gradually subsiding.
By the time I hit twenty, I’d finally regained my usual composure—or so I thought.
"...Calmed down?"
"Yeah. More or less," I replied, letting out a long exhale. "...Now that I've calmed down and listened, these really are just random rumors. Hardly any of them actually point to us."
"See? That's why I told you to relax. There are barely any rumors that directly identify us, but if you go around acting all suspicious, it'll be obvious."
"...Sorry."
It seemed I had gotten ahead of myself, mistakenly believing I was at the center of a storm that hadn't even broken yet. As long as our identities weren't known, rumors were just rumors. There was no need to be so self-conscious that I started acting like a suspect.
"Well, as long as you've calmed down, it's fine. For now, why don't we sit and wait for Hiiragi-san and the others?"
"True. Standing around just makes us stand out. Let's sit."
Yuji and I found an empty table in the lobby and sat down to wait for Mika and the girls.
About five minutes later, Mika and the others finally emerged from the locker room in their school uniforms. Spotting us at the table, Mika waved and ran over.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"Hey, that was surprisingly fast."
"Yeah. The locker room was a bit noisy, so everyone changed in a hurry."
It seemed the news of the Advanced Zone Clear had spread to the women's locker room as well. Given the state of the lobby, that wasn't surprising. I looked away from Mika and scanned the room. Among those gossiping in the lobby, I could see several groups of female explorers as well.
"I see. Well, we don't want to draw any unnecessary attention, so let's talk about that after we leave."
"Yeah! Got it."
Since I wanted to avoid any trouble like our identities being leaked, I told Mika not to discuss it here. Mika didn't want to cause a scene either, so she immediately agreed.
While I was talking to Mika, Hiiragi-san and Saori-chan made their way over to the table.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"We're sorry for the wait."
"Good work. Now that everyone's here, there's no reason to linger. Shall we head home?"
"Yeah, of course," Yuji said.
"Yes, that's fine with me," Hiiragi-san added.
"I'm good too," said Mika.
"No problems here," Saori concluded.
With everyone's consent, Yuji and I stood up.
"Then before we leave, let's settle the bill for the juice."
I started walking toward a corner of the lobby where I had spotted an automatic payment machine. Yuji and the others followed.
"Oh, so this is the automatic payment machine... Let's see. First, touch the screen and scan the tag attached to the locker key."
Three machines were lined up in the payment area. I stepped up to one and followed the instructions on the screen. I paid for the drinks displayed on the monitor, took my receipt, and was finished.
I stepped away so Mika could take my place.
"That was pretty easy... Oh, right. Mika, Saori-chan. The drink costs here can be written off as business expenses, so don't forget to take your receipts."
"Okay, got it."
"Yes. I'll be careful."
Mika and Saori-chan took turns at the machine Hiiragi-san had just used.
"Kokonoe-kun, can juice really be counted as a business expense?" Hiiragi-san asked.
"I think so. After all, these drinks are for necessary hydration during training as an explorer. In this heat, nobody's going to tell you not to hydrate after exercising."
"When you put it that way, I suppose you're right. Then I guess it's okay to record these juice costs as expenses too."
"It might be a small amount compared to the total tax, but tax saving is all about these small, steady accumulations."
The amount of tax saved from a few bottles of juice would be negligible, but every little bit counted. These kinds of habits helped build a proper mindset for the circle's finances. Of course, I had to make sure we didn't cross the line from tax saving into tax evasion!
Besides, it was good practice for the Treasurer to collect receipts and keep the books.
"Are you done too, Yuji?"
"Yeah. I was feeding it small change to clear out my wallet, so it took longer than I expected."
"Oh, I see."
"I had way too many one-yen and five-yen coins. I wanted to get rid of them."
His wallet must have been bulging before that.
While chatting with Yuji, Mika and Saori-chan returned, putting their wallets away.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"We're finished."
Both of them had followed my advice and secured their receipts.
"Alright, let's return the locker keys at the reception and head out."
"Yeah."
"Right."
"Okay."
"Yes."
With the drinks paid for, we moved toward the main reception desk.
On the way, my eyes caught an electronic scoreboard near the lobby entrance. On that board—which displayed the monthly number of clearers for each zone—the spot that had shown a "0" when we arrived now had a "1" shining brightly.
It was there because Yuji and I had cleared the Advanced Zone.
"..."
"Everyone's staring at it, Onii-chan."
"Yeah..."
Giving Mika a vague reply, I watched with a somewhat lukewarm gaze as the explorers waiting in line pointed at the board, buzzing with excitement.
The influence of an Advanced Zone Clear is no joke... I thought.
"Daiki, with a reaction like this, that 'Advanced Zone Clear' title of yours is going to be exactly the kind of leverage you wanted for the sports festival."
"He's right," Hiiragi-san agreed. "With this many explorers paying attention to it, if you use it correctly at the sports festival, the effect will be outstanding."
Yuji and Hiiragi-san praised me for the suggestion to clear the Advanced Zone. It was true that the title seemed effective, but...
I let out a small sigh as I watched a few people glaring enviously at the number "1" on the scoreboard. It was a great selling point, sure, but it felt like it was going to attract just as much trouble as it did prestige.
"Look, for now, let's just return the keys and get out of here. My skin is starting to crawl with all these eyes on us."
"What’s this? Are you blushing, Onii-chan?"
"Yeah, I am. So let's hurry up and leave."
I gave Mika a blunt reply and quickened my pace. I could sense the four of them chuckling at my expense, but I ignored them.
Arriving at the desk first, I handed my locker key to the staff member.
"Please."
"Certainly. Please wait a moment while I confirm your payment status."
The receptionist scanned the tag and checked the status.
"Confirmation complete. It appears you have already settled your bill. Thank you for using our facility today."
"No, thank you."
I gave the staff member a formulaic reply and stepped toward the exit to wait for the others.
After a few minutes, everyone had finished returning their keys, and we finally left the trap training facility behind.
As we walked toward the bus stop, we discussed our plans for the next day.
"So, we're heading to the dungeon tomorrow as scheduled... Mika, Saori-chan, are you two okay with that?"
"...Yes. I'm okay."
"...Yes. I'm okay too."
"If it seems like too much, please say so," I added. "If you push yourselves too hard when you're not ready, you could get seriously injured."
I made sure to confirm their intent. Forcing them to go when they weren't ready would only lead to a disaster.
"The goal for tomorrow's dungeon exploration is for Mika and Saori-chan to kill as many monsters as possible... right?"
"...Yes."
"...Yes."
Though their voices were quiet, Mika and Saori-chan looked straight at us with eyes full of resolve. If they looked like that, they would be fine.
"Alright. Then tomorrow's plan is set for the dungeon... Is that okay with everyone?"
"Yeah, if those two say they're ready, I have nothing more to say," Yuji said.
"Same here. But listen, you two? If you feel like you've reached your limit, you must tell us immediately, okay?"
"Got it!"
"Yes!"
Having completed the final confirmation, we decided that the whole group would head to the dungeon tomorrow.
This would be Mika and Saori’s second time in a dungeon. I had to make sure we didn't repeat our previous mistakes.