After my phone’s alarm pulled me from sleep, I sat on the edge of the bed and scanned the area, checking for any lingering sign of the watchers from yesterday. I closed my eyes and concentrated for a full minute, but I didn't sense any suspicious figures monitoring the house. It seemed yesterday had been a one-off.
"Phew... Looks like they’re gone."
I stood up, headed downstairs in my loungewear, and stepped into the living room. My mother was busy preparing breakfast, while my father sat on the sofa watching the morning news.
"Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom."
"Ah, morning."
"Morning, Daiki. Breakfast is almost ready, so go wash your face."
"Got it."
Urged on by Mom, I washed up and returned to the living room to take my usual seat. Just then, Mika opened the door and peeked in, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Morning..."
"Morning, Mika. We're about to eat, so go wash your face."
"...Okay."
Giving Mom a groggy reply, Mika shuffled back out toward the washroom.
"Honestly, you two are exactly the same. You should really wash up before showing your faces in here..."
"Haha..."
Mom let out a sigh of exasperation as she set the table, casting a pointed look my way. When I averted my eyes, unsure of how to respond, she let out another soft sigh. Sorry about that.
"Dear, breakfast is ready. Please come to the table."
"Right, coming."
Dad turned off the TV and moved from the sofa to the table. Once he was settled in his chair, he looked over at me.
"Oh, that’s right. Daiki."
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Your school’s sports festival is this weekend, isn't it?"
"Yeah, that’s the plan..."
"This might be a strange thing to ask now, but are you actually allowed to participate in the events?"
"Wait, what?"
Allowed to participate? Why was he asking me that now? As I tilted my head in confusion, Dad explained his reasoning.
"Well, there was a report on the news just before you woke up. Apparently, some parents have been protesting to schools, questioning whether it's appropriate to let students who hold an Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures participate in sports festival competitions."
"Huh? Protesting?"
I stared at him, stunned. He didn't look like he was joking; he had an expression of genuine perplexity.
"I mean, it’s a well-known fact that there’s a massive gap in physical ability between those with a permit and those without. But still..."
"So, uh... how did the school in the news handle it?"
"Apparently, they told the parents that the sports festival is about the significance of the entire student body participating together. It’s meant to foster a sense of belonging, cooperation, and student initiative, so they wouldn't exclude anyone just because they have an Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures."
"I see..."
That sounded like a perfectly reasonable response. If they started banning students based on whether they had a permit or not, the rest of the parents would probably start a whole different protest.
"But it didn't end there. After the school gave its explanation, they held the festival last Saturday as planned. But once it was over, a group of those parents got together to blast the school. They claimed that because the school let the permit holders compete, their own children couldn't shine and ended up depressed."
"What the... seriously!?"
The cry burst out of me before I could stop it. In the kitchen, Mom jumped at the noise and looked over, but I was too baffled to notice. What kind of logic was that? Your kid didn't do well, so you gang up and blame the school?
"Apparently, those kids were the star athletes until last year. The parents feel like their children could have excelled again this year if only the permit holders hadn't been allowed to compete."
"Wait... were they actually serious when they said that?"
The more I heard, the more my head started to ache.
"According to the news, yes. It seems those kids didn't have permits because they were focusing on their regular club activities. One of the reasons the parents gave for the protest was that seeing the overwhelming difference in power up close 'broke their spirits.'"
I suppose those kids probably felt like all their hard work was meaningless in the face of an explorer’s stats.
"Well, that’s why I asked. I wanted to know if you were actually going to be allowed to compete."
"Oh, right. So far, I haven't heard anything about participation being restricted by permit status."
"Good."
"But given what you just told me, something might change soon."
"..."
Dad fell silent with a grim expression. Ultimately, how the school would react depended on future developments. As we were discussing the news, Mika returned to the living room, now fully awake.
"Morning!"
"Morning, Mika."
"Morning."
Dad and I paused our conversation to greet her. Mika sat down and immediately leaned toward me.
"Hey, Onii-chan. I heard you shouting earlier. What were you and Dad talking about?"
"Hm? Oh, that. We were just talking about a news report Dad saw. I just let out a shout because I was so surprised by it."
"A topic that surprised Onii-chan... What kind of news was it?"
"Well, it was—"
"That’s enough, both of you. Eat your breakfast before you get too caught up in talking. You'll be late for school."
Yes, ma'am.
Mom brought over toast, scrambled eggs, salad, and coffee. Mika and I gave her a quick nod of thanks and started serving ourselves.
"Let’s eat."
"Let’s eat!"
Following Dad's lead, we all dug in.
After breakfast, Mika and I went back to our rooms to finish getting ready. I changed into my uniform and checked the shipping status of the order I’d placed online yesterday. I’d paid for the premium express delivery, so it had already been shipped and was scheduled to arrive this evening.
"Evening, huh... I’ll have to ask Mom to sign for it."
The payment was already handled via a prepaid card, so there were no issues there. I just needed her to take the package. I shut down my computer, grabbed my bag, and headed downstairs. Mom was cleaning up the kitchen; she looked up when I entered.
"Oh, Daiki. That was fast. All ready?"
"Yeah. Didn't have anything special to pack today."
"I see."
"By the way, where’s Dad?"
"In the restroom."
"Right. Hey, Mom? Could I ask a favor?"
"What is it?"
"I have an online order arriving this evening. I plan to be home to get it, but if I’m running late, could you take it for me?"
"Sure, that’s fine."
"Thanks."
She gave me a warm nod.
"Do I need to pay for it? Is it cash on delivery?"
"No, it’s fine. I’ve already paid, so you just have to accept the box."
"Understood."
Mom went back to the dishes. I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV, flipping through the channels. I wanted to see if I could catch the news Dad was talking about before I had to leave.
"Nothing on any of these..."
I cycled through all the channels, but none of the stations were covering the sports festival controversy. As I was searching, the living room door opened and Dad walked back in.
"Oh, you're ready early, Daiki."
"Yeah, more or less."
Dad sat on the sofa next to me.
"See anything interesting on the news?"
"Nothing, unfortunately. Just the usual stuff."
"Well, I suppose we’d be in trouble if there were major incidents every single day."
"True."
As we chatted, Mika joined us, now fully dressed in her uniform. She sat down beside me.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Onii-chan."
"No worries. We’ve still got plenty of time."
"...Okay."
We spent the remaining time before school watching the news together.
As I walked to school with Mika as usual, I noticed the atmosphere among the other students was a bit different compared to last week.
"Hey, Onii-chan? Doesn't everyone seem a bit... different today?"
"Hm? Oh, it’s probably because the sports festival is this weekend. Formal practice starts in PE today, so everyone’s getting into the spirit."
"I guess..."
Mika seemed to accept the explanation, nodding as she observed the students around us.
"Hey, Onii-chan. What you and Dad were saying this morning... was that actually true?"
"Probably. Setting aside the parents' specific complaints, it’s a valid concern. Explorers and non-explorers competing in the same events is bound to cause issues."
"But... if we separate them, there isn't much point in doing a school-wide event together, is there?"
"Good point."
If they were going to split the events entirely, they might as well be separate festivals. When it comes down to pure physical ability, the gap between an explorer and a non-explorer is insurmountable. That’s why explorers are banned from official matches meant to compare raw skill. But the sports festival is a school event—part of the curriculum, and a festival at its core.
I wondered if it was right to place such heavy restrictions on a festival.
"Morning, Daiki! Mika-chan!"
"Ah, Yuji. Morning."
"Good morning, Yuji-san."
As Mika and I were walking with somber expressions, Yuji caught up from behind.
"What’s up? You two look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"Oh, yeah. Well..."
I gave Yuji a quick summary of the news report from this morning. By the time I finished, Yuji was grimacing, letting out a sigh as he rubbed his temple.
"Ah, I see. Regardless of what those parents are saying, it’s true that showing off an overwhelming power gap in front of non-explorers is going to crush some people’s spirits."
"Exactly. And if that’s the case, what we’re planning to do for the festival is... a bit of a problem, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it’s bad. If we go through with our current plan for the appeal time, we’re going to break some people, nine times out of ten."
"I thought so..."
I didn't care if we broke the spirits of those repeating students, but it would be a disaster if we did that to the general non-explorer students or the beginner explorers. Even if we put the general students aside for a moment, letting beginners go into a dungeon with their confidence shattered could be fatal. Dungeon diving isn't something you should do when you're mentally compromised.
"I’d really like to avoid being the reason someone from our school gets hurt or killed."
"Agreed."
Ironically, it took a piece of news about 'monster parents' to make us realize that we’d been so focused on deterring the seniors that we’d completely neglected the impact we’d have on everyone else.
I guess this means we need to consult Juzo-san and rethink our demonstration program. We needed something that would be effective against the seniors, but wouldn't be too traumatizing for the regular students and beginners.