The morning classes had felt a bit restless following the announcement of the new sports festival policy. Once the lunch bell finally rang, Yuji, Hiiragi-san, and I moved to the clubroom to eat our lunches.
During the meal, Hiiragi-san handed me a piece of paper folded into quarters.
"Oh, right. I should give this to you before I forget. Here."
"? What’s this?"
"The script I wrote based on that rough idea we discussed yesterday."
"Wait, you finished it already?"
"Yes, though it’s just a basic plot outline. For now, could you let me know what you think?"
I accepted the paper with a surprised expression.
"Sure, let me take a look."
I unfolded the paper and placed it on the desk so that Yuji, who was sitting next to me, could see it too. Yuji and I read through the plot Hiiragi-san had drafted while our hands continued moving to finish our lunches.
Once I finished skimming the draft, I looked at Hiiragi-san and gave her my thoughts.
"I think the general outline is perfect. We can refine the minor details as we actually start practicing. Right, Yuji?"
"Yeah, definitely. I agree with Daiki; the core concept works well."
"I see. That's a relief. I'll show it to Mika-chan and Saori-chan later. If they give us the green light, I'll start writing the full manuscript."
"Yeah. It sounds like a lot of work, but we're counting on you, Hiiragi-san."
I refolded the paper and handed it back to her with a word of encouragement.
"You can leave it to me," she replied.
Hiiragi-san tucked the paper into her pocket with a relaxed smile. Judging by her demeanor, she didn't seem to be pushing herself too hard.
A short while later, Mika and Saori-chan arrived at the clubroom. Before they started their lunches, Hiiragi-san showed them the plot draft. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Since neither of them had any specific requests for changes, we decided to proceed with the current outline.
"By the way, Mika. How are things going with the first-years regarding the sports festival?"
I casually brought up the topic as Mika and Saori-chan began to eat. Both of them let out heavy sighs and stopped their chopsticks mid-air.
Uh... what happened?
"W-What’s wrong?"
"...Onii-chan. For this sports festival, they decided to separate the explorers and non-explorers, right?"
"Yeah. That's the plan..."
"Because of that, we ended up in the same group as those Repeating Students for our festival practice."
"The thing is... in our class, there are still very few people who have their Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures. Besides us, there are only those Repeating Students and a few others."
Ah, I see. Now I understood why they were so dejected.
"After Saori-chan turned down their recruitment, we tried our best to keep our distance from them in the classroom, but..."
"Because of the new policy, we’re forced to practice in the same group during PE. And because of that... well..."
Mika and Saori-chan's eyes wavered, their expressions clouded with anxiety.
"They haven't tried to recruit us again, but they clearly know about our activities... they click their tongues and glare at us constantly..."
"Fortunately, they haven't laid a hand on us yet, but looking at their eyes, we're worried that eventually..."
As they spoke, a flicker of genuine fear appeared in their eyes. They both looked down and fell into a heavy silence.
Seeing them like that made my blood boil. I almost lunged out of my seat in a fit of rage, but Yuji, sitting right next to me, grabbed my shoulder and held me down. I reflexively shot a murderous glare at him, but Yuji stared right back into my eyes. He quietly shook his head.
"Calm down, Daiki. If you go pick a fight with them now, all the careful, roundabout planning we've done goes right out the window."
"He's right, Kokonoe-kun. Besides, even if you solve the problem with the Repeating Students by force, what happens afterward?"
"Think about it. The relatives of a student who caused a public violent incident inside the school in broad daylight... even if you get rid of the Repeating Students, Mika-chan and the others will be the ones who suffer for it next."
"..."
Thanks to the calm reasoning of Yuji and Hiiragi-san, the heat in my head began to dissipate. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, forcing my racing heart to steady.
"...My bad."
"No, it's understandable. Don't worry about it."
I gave a brief apology once I regained my composure, and Yuji finally released his grip on my shoulder. It seemed he'd judged that I wasn't going to go on a rampage anymore.
I glanced over at Mika and Saori-chan. They were watching me with worried eyes. Ah, this is bad. I'm the one who's supposed to be reassuring them.
"Ah, well, you know? If those guys try anything, you tell us immediately, okay? We'll handle it."
"U-Uh-huh."
"Y-Yes."
I tried to speak in a gentle tone with the most reassuring expression I could manage, but Mika and Saori-chan just nodded repeatedly with stiff, forced smiles. My own face threatened to twitch at their reaction, but I endured it and looked to Yuji and Hiiragi-san for help. They both just looked away with wry, awkward smiles.
...Please, someone help me out here.
After that awkward lunch break, I spent the afternoon classes in a total daze. Not a single word of the lessons reached my brain, and before I knew it, the final bell had rung.
I let out a long sigh while getting ready to go home. Yuji and Hiiragi-san walked up to my desk with their bags, looking concerned.
"Hey. You okay, Daiki?"
"Are you alright, Kokonoe-kun?"
"Ah, yeah, I'm fine..."
"No way. You definitely don't look fine..."
Hearing Yuji's skepticism, I pulled my smartphone out of my bag and checked my reflection in the black screen.
...Wow. I looked like someone who had just finished a three-day sleepless marathon. I couldn't blame them for not believing me.
"Hah... Okay, I look exhausted, but really, I'm fine."
"...If you say so."
"Yeah."
Yuji gave a look that said he’d drop it for now, and Hiiragi-san, who had been listening, furrowed her brow and tapped her temple with a finger.
I ignored their looks and stuffed my textbooks into my bag.
"Alright, shall we go?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
With our bags in hand, we left the classroom and headed toward the entrance instead of the clubroom. We had business to attend to today, so we were heading straight out. I had already asked Mika and Saori-chan to just show their faces in the clubroom for a bit to keep up appearances so it wouldn't look like the club was officially suspended.
As we were changing into our outdoor shoes at the lockers, Yuji checked in with me again.
"Look, Daiki. Are you sure you're okay? We're going to the dungeon after this. If you're out of sorts, we should just call it off for today..."
"I told you, I'm fine. I might look a bit rough, but it's nothing to worry about. Besides, if we don't go today, when will we? Starting tomorrow, we'll have sports festival team practice after school, so we're out of time."
"...I guess you're right."
Yuji let out a sigh and conceded.
"Come on, we’re burning daylight. Let's move."
"Right."
We left the school grounds, passing the school gates while the distant shouts of the cheer squad practicing for the cheering competition echoed behind us.
We split up at the usual fork in the road to get ready.
"See you guys in a bit."
"Yeah. Meeting in front of the station ticket machines in thirty minutes, right?"
"Exactly. See you then."
After confirming the rendezvous, I ran home. I didn't have the luxury of my usual leisurely walk. I covered the fifteen-minute distance in about five minutes.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, Daiki. You're home quite early today."
My mother greeted me as I burst through the front door.
"I've got plans to head out again right away, so I'll be leaving soon."
"I see. Will you be late coming back?"
"Yeah. Sorry, but it'll probably be around 8:00 PM."
"Oh, that late?"
My mother's expression clouded over. Ah, I don't have time for the 'safety lecture.'
"Sorry! I'm in a huge rush, so I'm heading to my room!"
"Wait! Daiki!"
I escaped into my room before she could start the interrogation.
"Phew... Okay, time to get ready."
I tossed my school bag onto the bed and started changing. I hung my uniform in the closet and pulled out the clothes I'd bought at the discount store yesterday. They weren't my usual style at all, but that was the whole point of a disguise. Once I changed, I started putting on the accessories: a silver necklace, a bracelet, and a pair of non-prescription silver-rimmed glasses.
When I looked in the full-length mirror, I barely recognized myself.
"...This is probably enough, but let's go all the way."
I grabbed some hairspray and a comb. After a few minutes of styling, I had my hair slicked back into a sharp all-back style.
The final result...
"...Who is this smug pseudo-intellectual?"
The person in the mirror looked like a sleazy intellectual with slicked-back hair and silver glasses. Perhaps lingering from lunch break, my eyes looked sharp and irritable. The silver accessories added a touch of flashiness, creating an unapproachable, slightly shady aura.
Evaluation: a thoroughly unsavory intellectual jerk.
"I kind of want to change... but there's no time."
I glanced at the clock on my desk. There were barely ten minutes left until the meeting time. There was no way I could redo the disguise now.
I guess I'm going like this.
"Hah... whatever. Let's go."
I grabbed the supplies I’d bought yesterday and headed out with a heavy heart.
As I came down the stairs, my mother peeked out from the living room. She saw me and her jaw dropped.
"..."
"...Daiki?"
"Yeah."
"What on earth happened to you? What is that outfit...?"
"...I needed to change for where I'm going."
"Change? Into that?"
She walked around me, inspecting my look from head to toe.
"...Are you going to a costume party?"
"No, not exactly..."
Well, I can't blame her. This was the polar opposite of my usual fashion sense.
I stood there as she sighed and inspected me, but when I checked my watch, I nearly panicked.
"Sorry, Mom! I'm going to be late! I have to go!"
"Wait, Daiki! Let me take a picture! I have to show Mika and your father!"
"No way! I really don't have time! Maybe later!"
She pulled out her phone and held up a finger, begging for just one shot, but I apologized and shoved my feet into my shoes.
"I'm off, Mom! I'll be late, so go ahead and eat dinner without me!"
"Will it really be that late?"
"I don't know yet. We might eat out together. I'll call you once I know for sure!"
"I see. Well, be careful out there."
"I will! I'm off!"
I shouted my goodbye and sprinted toward the station. Since I’d spent too much time talking to my mother, I ran even faster than my trip home. I was probably moving at the pace of an elite marathon runner—covering a kilometer in about three minutes.
Then again, this kind of speed wasn't exactly rare these days. As I got closer to the station and the crowds thickened, people would look surprised for a second but quickly lose interest. During the morning rush, seeing explorer students sprinting like this because they were late for class had become a common sight. No one was shocked by this level of physical ability anymore.
Thanks to that, I made it to the station right on time. Well, technically one minute early.
"Okay, the ticket machines..."
I looked toward the meeting spot and froze.
If I looked like this... then those two must be...