As we made our entrance, an announcement began introducing each of the clubs. We waved energetically toward the stands, trying to appeal to the crowd and let them know we were there. While cheers did rise from the seats in response to our introduction, our circle was still practically unknown, so the applause was thin and scattered.
Well, it hasn’t even been a month since we founded the circle... I suppose this is only to be expected.
"The cheers for us are a bit lonely compared to the other clubs..."
"It can't be helped, Hirose-kun. Our circle was just formed, so we completely lack the name recognition the others have."
I could hear the conversation between Yuji and Hiiragi-san, who were walking ahead of me, without it being drowned out by the noise.
As the introduction for the next group began and the crowd's attention shifted to the members of the circle entering behind us, Mika let her inner feelings slip with a look of dissatisfaction.
"...No one is paying attention to us."
"That’s true. But there's no point in worrying about that right now, Saori-chan said, trying to comfort her."
"...Yeah."
Mika nodded, though she seemed reluctant to accept it.
Even if it wasn't Mika, anyone would feel a bit frustrated to see the circle they worked so hard to build fail to attract any attention from the student body. We could definitely use a better reaction.
Once the entry for all groups concluded, a line of eighteen organizations participating in the club activity introduction formed in front of the assembly platform.
"First, we will have five minutes for each club's activity appeal. Please spread out across the entire field so you do not collide with other clubs during your performance. Now, disperse!"
Following the instruction, all the clubs spread out across the field at once to begin their appeals. The cultural clubs took up positions near the headquarters tent, attempting to draw the attention of faculty and spectators to showcase their activities. The sports clubs positioned themselves directly in front of their respective teams' cheering sections, desperately trying to catch the eyes of students to recruit new members. Every club moved quickly to secure the most optimal spot for their specific goals.
As for us... we took up a position right in the center of the field, where there were the fewest people.
"Hey, Onii-chan? Why are we doing this in the middle of the field? If we want to get the students' attention, shouldn't we be over by the cheering sections too?"
"She’s right, Onii-san. If we’re going to deter Goto-kun and his group, doing it right in front of our team's section would be the most effective..."
Both Mika and Saori-chan voiced their complaints the moment we settled in the center of the field. From their perspective, this was the perfect chance to act as a deterrent against those annoying types.
However...
"No. I get what you're saying, but... look at that."
I pointed toward the stands. There, various sports clubs were putting everything they had into their activity introductions and recruitment drives.
Every club was currently in a state of crisis. Members who held an Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures had resigned en masse because they were barred from official matches, leaving the clubs on the brink of collapse. The soccer and baseball clubs were particularly desperate; having fallen below the minimum number of players required for a team, they were currently facing a suspension of activities.
"We can't do what we’re planning to do in the middle of all that, right? Of course, it would be easy enough to spar while avoiding them, but if we do it too close, they might complain that we're interfering with their appeal. It would just be a hassle."
"Ugh..."
Mika and Saori-chan fell silent at my reasoning, while Yuji and Hiiragi-san let out wry smiles.
Giving my hands a light clap, I issued instructions to the four of them.
"Well, we don't have much time, so shall we get started?"
"Right. It looks like we're the only ones who haven't done anything yet."
"Indeed. Well then, Hirose-kun, please go easy on me."
"Leave it to me."
After Yuji and Hiiragi-san exchanged a few words, they took their stances a short distance away from us. A tense atmosphere immediately settled between them.
And then...
"Daiki, give us the signal."
"Understood. Ready... go!"
At the same moment the sound of my kashiwade clap rang out, Yuji and Hiiragi-san moved simultaneously to close the gap. Yuji struck first. Stepping in with enough force to leave the imprint of his shoe in the dirt, he threw a right straight toward Hiiragi-san’s face. Even as Yuji’s fist flew forward with a resounding whistle of wind, Hiiragi-san remained perfectly calm. She deflected the punch by striking the side of his fist with a right backhand and immediately threw a left hook toward his flank, aiming for a counter.
"Ah!"
Mika and Saori-chan seemed to think the match had been decided instantly, but the moment Hiiragi-san’s left hook brushed his side, Yuji spun his body at high speed to bleed off the impact entirely. He then launched a left elbow strike toward Hiiragi-san’s temple. However, she avoided the elbow with a forward roll, swinging her left heel upward in a scooping motion to target Yuji’s left side, which had been left open by his strike. But the moment Yuji saw his elbow miss, he had already put distance between them, and the heel kick failed to connect.
Having briefly separated, the two of them gauged each other's next move for a fraction of a second before immediately closing in again to resume their fierce exchange.
"Yeah. They’re really going at it, those two..."
"..."
I watched their rapid-fire exchange with admiration. Their spar looked flashy and sounded loud, but their parries were so perfect that neither was taking any actual damage. In fact, they were deliberately moving to make it a spectacle—making their footsteps louder and making their attacks produce unnecessary wind-cutting sounds, which was the exact opposite of our usual training.
"Alright, those two will be fine. Mika, Saori-chan, shall we start our spar too?"
"..."
"Hm? What's wrong, you two? Why the long faces?"
Judging that I could leave Yuji and Hiiragi-san to their own devices, I spoke to Mika and Saori-chan about starting our own spar, but I was puzzled by their reactions. They were staring at the other two with wide eyes and expressions of pure shock.
They should have seen sparring much more intense than that at the dojo...
"...Hey, Onii-chan? Isn't that a bit much?"
"...You think? They're certainly making a lot of noise, but the movements themselves aren't that big of a deal. Even that first exchange was basically just like a choreographed stage combat scene we've practiced a dozen times."
"That might be true for us, but... look."
Mika directed her gaze behind me, toward the cheering sections. Curious, I turned my head to see what she was looking at, only to find the members of the other sports clubs standing frozen, their faces masks of pure shock.
...Uh-oh.
"The sports club people have been glued to Yuji-san and Yukino-san’s spar for a while now."
"Onii-san, some of them look like they've completely given up hope."
"..."
Yikes... was even this much over the top? We might have just delivered the finishing blow to the people who were clinging to a sliver of hope that new students would join and their clubs would return to normal.
For a moment, I thought about telling Yuji and Hiiragi-san to stop, but I swallowed the words. It was too late to do anything about it now anyway.
"...Well, what can you do? What's done is done. Let's just continue as planned. For better or worse, the sports clubs' shock has drawn the eyes of the students in the stands to us more than I expected."
"Y-Yeah. Got it..."
Because the athletes who had been performing in front of the stands had stopped to watch Yuji and Hiiragi-san, the eyes of the students in the cheering sections were now fixed on the center of the field. Of course, the majority of the students in the stands likely held explorer permits and could fight to some degree, but most of them were self-taught, having only honed their skills against monsters in the dungeons. Seeing two people their own age sparring with proper martial arts techniques clearly piqued their interest.
I took a little distance from Mika and Saori-chan, facing them with a natural posture without taking a formal stance.
"Alright... come at me."
Upon hearing the signal, Mika and Saori-chan exchanged a look before apparently making up their minds. They raised their hands to chest height and took half-body stances.
"Here we come, Onii-chan!"
"Here I come, Onii-san!"
Moving in sync, Mika and Saori-chan split to my left and right, closing the distance at almost the exact same moment. Since they had only recently started as explorers, their levels were low, and they didn't have physical abilities that far exceeded ordinary people like we did—but they still moved with the speed and power of Olympic-class athletes.
The gap between us vanished in an instant. While not quite as loud as Yuji or Hiiragi-san, Mika and Saori-chan unleashed kicks toward my stomach with heavy stomps and sharp whistles of wind. Without panicking, I caught their legs and, instead of resisting their force, shifted the vectors to throw both of them into the air. It was a type of aiki I had learned from Juzo-san.
"Ngh!"
Sensing they had been tossed, Mika and Saori-chan calmly corrected their postures in mid-air. Instead of slamming into the ground, they landed on their feet and slid several meters across the dirt before coming to a stop.
"Hey now, you two. It’s no good to throw such obvious, wide attacks from the front without a feint."
"Yeah, I guess not..."
"If you want to land a big hit like that, you have to link it with smaller techniques or feints to trap your opponent. Otherwise, you’ll just get countered like I just did."
"Yeah. But... it looked good, right?"
Listening to my warning, Mika gave a bashful smile, looking like she’d just pulled off a successful prank. She was right; the sight of two girls being tossed into the air only to land gracefully was a visually striking image.
"True, it did."
"Then, here goes the next one!"
"Right."
This time, Saori-chan tucked herself behind Mika, and they approached me in a straight line.
First, Mika unleashed a right hook toward my jaw. I lightly leaned back to dodge it and reached out to grab her extended arm to throw her again... but instead of taking the bait, I hopped back and to the left to put distance between us.
This was because, at the same moment Mika launched her attack, Saori-chan had lunged out from behind her in a low crouch, attempting a low horizontal kick to sweep my legs.
"Aww, that didn't work either..."
Seeing how easily I had avoided the sweep, Mika looked a bit dejected. Saori-chan had a similar expression, but the look in her eyes remained sharp, showing she still had the spirit to try and land at least one blow. I wondered if she had another trick up her sleeve.
As I was gauging their next move, the announcement signaling the end of the appeal time rang out across the field.
"Time is up. Each club, please conclude your appeals and return to your original positions. We will now begin the inter-club relay."
The athletes from the other clubs, particularly those who had been performing in front of the stands, looked like they were waking up from a dream. As they returned to their lines, they cast wary glances toward us—specifically toward Yuji and Hiiragi-san.
"Good work."
"Good work, everyone."
Yuji and Hiiragi-san, who had been sparring a short distance away, returned to us with light waves. Despite the intensity of their exchange, their gym uniforms were barely even dusty.
"Good work, you two. That was a pretty flashy spar, wasn't it?"
"I guess. Although, I just deliberately let out the sounds that I usually take care to suppress."
"Juzo-san told us not to make any noise normally, after all."
According to Juzo-san, the wind-cutting sounds of a punch or the sound of the ground cracking under your feet are proof of wasted power. Because of that, in our recent training sessions, we’ve been careful to eliminate all operational sounds other than the actual impact of a hit. That said, it’s only very recently that we’ve even been able to pull that off during practice. With our current skill level, we’ll make noise immediately if we aren't constantly conscious of it.
I wonder when I'll be able to reach the level Juzo-san speaks of, where I can eliminate those combat sounds even subconsciously...
"Um, Onii-san? Shall we save the evaluation for later and line up? Most of the other clubs are already back in position."
"Eh? Ah, you’re right. Alright everyone, let's hurry."
When Saori-chan pointed it out, I realized almost all the other clubs had already returned to their original spots. We scrambled to get back in line.