Upon arriving at school, we parted ways with Mika at the entrance.
"See ya, Mika. See you after school."
"Yup! Good luck with your classes, Onii-chan!"
With a cheerful wave, Mika headed toward her own classroom.
"Shall we go?"
"Yeah."
As Yuji and I made our way to our classroom, we happened to overhear a pair of male students talking in the hallway.
"Hey, did you hear? Someone actually cleared the Advanced Zone at the trap training facility!"
"The trap training facility... Oh, that place run by the Dungeon Association? What’s the big deal? I mean, judging by the name 'Advanced Zone,' I'm sure it's hard... but is it really that shocking?"
"What?! You mean you’ve never used that facility before?!"
"Uh, yeah. I knew it existed, but I’ve never gone there..."
"I see. Then you probably don't realize just how incredible an Advanced Zone clear really is."
The excited student began giving a brief explanation of the facility to his skeptical friend.
"Listen, okay? To put it simply, the trap training facility is exactly what the name implies: a facility run by the Dungeon Association that recreates traps actually found in dungeons, along with various other traps from all times and places. It’s divided into three zones by difficulty—Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced—and it features combinations of dozens of different traps."
"Huh."
"Don’t just 'huh' me! Anyway, the Advanced Course is the most difficult of them all. Apparently, hundreds of groups have attempted it since the facility opened, but counting the people who cleared it this time, only two groups have ever actually finished it."
"What?! Only two groups?!"
"That’s why everyone is making such a fuss. On top of that, the real kicker is that the people who cleared it this time weren't pros in the explorer profession—they were students!"
"What?!"
The student who had been listening half-heartedly let out a cry of amazement.
"I’ve never heard of any students clearing it before, not even the top guys at our school. That’s why the rumors are spreading like wildfire right now."
"I see... Well, that makes sense."
"Yeah. Word is that the student parties called 'frontline explorers'—including the top ones here—are desperate to scout them to be their scouts."
Hearing that conversation by chance made both Yuji’s and my faces twitch violently. We hadn't realized the news had blown up quite that much.
We kept walking without stopping, and only after we were a good distance away from the chatting students did we finally speak.
"Hey, Yuji?"
"...What?"
"Do you think our faces were seen? Like... do you think we've been exposed?"
"...Who knows. But they just said 'students,' so I don't think they’ve identified us yet... or at least, I’d like to believe that."
"Yeah, you're right."
Yuji and I looked at each other's pale faces, trying to convince ourselves.
If we had been identified, recruiters probably would have swarmed us by now. For better or worse, the only ones who had made a move since the clear were the tailers (presumably) sent by the Association... though I couldn't say what would happen from here on out.
"But still... we didn't exactly try to hide, so we might get caught eventually."
"True..."
It wasn't as if the trap training facility had been deserted, and it was possible that information had leaked from the facility staff or Association employees. Even if the Association didn't intend to leak info, people say you can't put a lid on gossip. Something said as part of small talk could spread before anyone knew it.
Eventually, someone might get wind of the fact that we were the ones who cleared the Advanced Zone and come to scout us...
"...Regardless of how we handle it, we should probably talk to the other three soon."
"Right. We can talk to Hiiragi-san in the classroom, but for Mika and Saori... I'll send them a warning email now."
"That's probably for the best. If they accidentally let it slip that they know us, they might get hounded by the people looking to recruit us."
"Understood. Let's get to class quickly."
Having decided on a plan, Yuji and I hurried toward our room. It would be a pain if a teacher saw us on our phones in the hallway and confiscated them.
When we arrived, a good number of our classmates were already there. After exchanging brief greetings, I sat at my desk and immediately began drafting an email to Mika and Saori-chan. If I waited too long, they might mention something in the flow of conversation.
"Good morning."
"? Oh, Hiiragi-san. Good morning."
"...Morning."
While I was hurrying to write the email, I heard Hiiragi-san and Yuji exchange greetings. I gave a reflexive, half-hearted reply without stopping my hands.
"? Kokonoe-kun, what are you doing?"
"He's sending an urgent email to Mika-chan and Saori-chan."
"To Mika-chan?"
As I typed, Yuji explained the morning's events to Hiiragi-san in a low voice.
"...Oh, so those are the rumors going around."
"Yeah. That's why Daiki is rushing to send a warning email telling them not to mention us."
"I see."
While listening to their conversation, I sent the finished warning to both of them.
"There, that should do it."
"Did you send it?"
"Yeah. For now, I just hope one of them notices..."
We were at school, so they probably had their phones on silent. There was a chance they wouldn't see it immediately. It would be a relief if a reply came back before homeroom...
"Well, it's school. It can't be helped if they don't see it right away."
"True. When it's on silent, sometimes you don't even notice it in your pocket."
"Besides, it's before class, right? Their phones might still be in their bags."
Just as the three of us were worrying about it, my phone vibrated. I checked the screen—a new email.
"Oh, a reply from Mika."
"And?"
"She says okay. She'll tell Saori-chan too."
It seemed the message had arrived safely. With this, at the very least, we shouldn't be exposed through Mika and her friend.
"That's one less thing to worry about."
"Yeah. Though I don't know how much good it'll do in the long run."
"Even so, it reduces the chance of Mika-chan and Saori-chan getting caught up in a mess."
"I hope so..."
I tucked my phone into my bag and pulled out my textbooks to prepare for class.
"Oh, by the way, you two. Did those people from yesterday head home right after we split up?"
"Yesterday's... Oh, those guys. They stuck around for a bit after you and Hiiragi-san left, but they pulled out after about ten or fifteen minutes."
"It was the same for me," Hiiragi-san added. "After Kokonoe-kun walked me home, they withdrew about ten or fifteen minutes later."
"I see. At my place, they pulled out within just two or three minutes of me getting home. So, what about this morning?"
The reason my watcher didn't linger might have been because I was the last one to return.
"They weren't there."
"Not at my place either."
"None here either."
So there were no eyes on any of us. I didn't know the exact circumstances, but maybe the surveillance really was just for that one day. Still, it was better to stay on guard than to fail because we got complacent.
While the three of us chatted, the door opened and Hirasaka-sensei walked in with a weary expression.
"Alright, settle down. Homeroom is starting. Everyone, get to your seats."
Prompted by his voice, the students returned to their desks. Once he confirmed everyone was seated, Hirasaka-sensei began.
"First off, good morning."
"Good morning!"
"Now then, regarding today's notices... Well, it’s about the sports festival this weekend. Formal practice begins during PE class starting today. As practice intensifies, the number of injuries tends to spike every year, so I want everyone to be careful."
Last year, being our first high school event, everyone had been so fired up that there were injuries left and right... mostly just scrapes, though.
I figured that since many of us were now explorers, there wouldn't be many injuries among the upperclassmen. Perhaps that thought showed on my face, because Hirasaka-sensei let out a small sigh and focused on us.
"Listen up... You’re probably thinking this doesn't really concern you because you're explorers now, right? It absolutely concerns you. In schools in other prefectures that held their festivals earlier than us, there have been reports of an explorer student and a non-explorer student colliding during relay practice because of a failed baton pass. The non-explorer student ended up with a broken leg."
A stir went through the classroom at his words.
"A broken bone...?"
"Yeah." Hirasaka-sensei nodded. "The explorer student was moving so fast for the baton pass that they reached the receiver before that student could accelerate. The two collided and went down in a heap."
I see... that made sense.
If a student with an Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures ran at full power, even at a low level—say, level ten or so—they could run faster than a world-class sprinter. On top of that, explorers were physically dense and sturdy thanks to the effects of leveling up.
In essence, it was like being hit by a bicycle moving at a fair clip.
"The result was that the explorer was unhurt, while the non-explorer student's leg was broken."
The buzzing in the classroom grew louder as he finished. Hirasaka-sensei clapped his hands to gather our attention again.
"Quiet down. Fortunately, the student with the broken bone was fine because the other student had brought a recovery potion to school and used it on them....But listen, while it was just a broken leg in that case, one wrong move and it could have been a broken neck or ruptured internal organs. It could have been a fatal accident."
The room went dead silent. It wasn't surprising; hearing that someone could have died was a sobering thought.
Hirasaka-sensei glanced at us solemnly.
"When you heard my story, you probably thought it had nothing to do with you, right? But if you're careless, you might not be the one getting hurt—you could be the one causing the injury. Don’t let your guard down, even during practice... understood?"
Yes!!
We gave a sincere response, taking his warning to heart. Having finished that heavy topic, Hirasaka-sensei moved on.
"Now then. Sorry to follow that up with more, but there's one more notice regarding the sports festival."
A wave of groans went through the room. Still more?
"Don't worry. This next part is a bit better than the last one."
He said that, but judging by his face, it wasn't exactly good news.
"Uh... has anyone here seen the news reports from this morning regarding the sports festival?"
He looked around the room, appearing somewhat awkward. This morning's news?
"Um, sensei... are you talking about the monster parent who filed a complaint against the school over the sports festival?" a girl asked tentatively.
"...Yeah, that's the one."
I knew it.
Hirasaka-sensei averted his eyes slightly. "Actually, following that news, a faculty meeting was held this morning. For this upcoming sports festival, we may end up separating students with explorer permits from those without, having them compete in separate events."
"Whaaaaat?!"
A roar of surprise erupted from the classroom.
One second of neglect, a lifetime of pain.
If a high-speed explorer and a non-explorer collided at full tilt... people could actually die, couldn't they?