Juzo-san sat before us, eyes closed and arms crossed, as we knelt in seiza on cushions laid out across the dojo’s wooden floor.
...What was this? Even though we were in a dojo, I felt like a criminal awaiting judgment on the white sands of a magistrate’s court in an old period drama.
"..."
"..." "..." "..."
The silence was stifling. We had been in this position for over five minutes already. I really wanted him to show some kind of reaction soon. The three of us kept our heads perfectly still, only shifting our eyes to glance at one another, each trying to pressure the others into being the one to speak to Juzo-san first.
Then...
"You lot..."
"!" "Y-Yes, sir!"
Uncrossing his arms, Juzo-san slowly opened his eyes and addressed us. We listened with tense expressions.
"First, I’ll say good work."
"Y-Yes, sir."
I replied to his words of appreciation, my voice slightly high-pitched.
"You lot... your voices are shaking. I am not particularly angry, so do not be so tense."
"Yes, sir..."
Juzo-san gave a wry smile as he saw us let out collective sighs of relief.
"The content of the demonstration I heard about beforehand was different from what you performed. You all said you didn’t want to do anything too flashy, yet you went and did that. I wanted to hear the reason why you felt the need to change the demonstration’s contents. What happened?"
"Y-Yes. Well, about that..."
I began explaining the reasoning behind our last-minute change. I told him about the audience’s reaction during the rehearsal and the behavior of the Goto group on the morning of the sports festival, as reported by Mika and the others.
"I see. Certainly, if you were getting those kinds of reactions, then changing the demonstration was a valid option. While the planned demonstration accounted for the impact on the audience, the impact on those problematic fellows would have been weak. Adding another strike while the opponent is flinching is indeed effective. However..."
Juzo-san nodded with a look of understanding, but a worried expression soon crossed his face.
"The demonstration you performed was certainly a perfect deterrent against those fellows. But was it really wise? By performing like that, the attention you’ll draw at school will be far greater than what you had originally planned, you know?"
"Of course, we’re prepared for that. As you say, Juzo-san, I’m sure there will be people who take an interest in us or try to mess with us after seeing that performance. But that’s a problem we would have faced even with the original demonstration. If that’s the case, we thought it would be better to firmly drive a wedge into the issues with Goto and his group right here and now."
I wanted to settle the problems that seemed solvable as early as possible before I ended up juggling too many at once and became unable to cope. At the very least, it seemed like trouble was brewing with both the school and the Dungeon Association.
"Is that so... If you did it with full knowledge of the consequences, then it would be boorish of me to interfere. But do not hesitate to consult me if anything happens, understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
Juzo-san looked into our determined eyes and said nothing more on the matter.
With our concerns about being scolded resolved and the tension eased, we drank tea while talking to him about our trip starting tomorrow.
"I see. So the five of you are going to stay overnight in a dungeon starting tomorrow."
"Yes. Compared to the average explorer, Mika and Saori-chan are at a low level since they only started recently. Thanks to your guidance, Juzo-san, I think they’re superior to the Goto group in terms of skill, but it’s an undeniable fact that they’re inferior in terms of their basic stats—their levels. They’ve definitely caught the Goto group’s eye because of this festival, so I think it’s best to boost their levels to a decent point before the holiday is over."
Juzo-san gave a small nod.
"Indeed. Although they have been trained fairly well, those young ladies are still fresh as explorers. Since we cannot yet say they can suppress an opponent through skill alone, it is important to train their basic stats so they are not inferior compared to other explorers."
"That’s why we’re doing a two-day, one-night dungeon attack. If it’s just a day trip, taking the travel time into account, we’d have less than half a day to actually explore with them. If we stay over, we don’t have to worry about the commute."
Since Mika and the others were still inexperienced, staying overnight inside the dungeon was out of the question. For the sake of their mental health and to avoid undue stress, it was necessary to wrap things up at a reasonable point and leave the dungeon. If we ignored this and went too deep, they could end up developing PTSD or worse.
"Well, do not overdo it. No matter what you say, those young ladies lack experience. If it looks like they are pushing themselves too hard, withdraw without hesitation."
"Yes, of course. It would be a major problem if those two got seriously injured because I pushed them too far."
For now, the plan for this dungeon attack was to spend the first day and the first half of the second day hunting monsters on the shallow floors to get the numbers needed for leveling. Then, at the end of the second day, we’d have them fight humanoid monsters. I wanted them both to cross level 10 and then gain some real experience. If they killed a humanoid monster on the first day, they probably wouldn’t be able to continue the exploration properly due to the psychological shock.
Even for us, despite having a fair amount of experience at the time, our first battle with humanoid monsters had left us shaken and prone to mistakes. It was best to be cautious.
"I see. Then I suppose I shall retrain those young ladies once more after you return from the dungeon..."
"...Wait, retrain them?"
"Hmm? Is something the matter?"
"What do you mean, retrain..."
"What, is it not obvious? When your level goes up and your basic stats increase, a gap will emerge between your actual physical movements and your senses. Especially since it seems those young ladies’ levels will jump up all at once during this trip. You all know this as well—aligning your senses is vital, is it not?"
"T-That’s true..."
I'm sorry, Mika, Saori-chan. It’s been decided that after the dungeon attack, you’ll be doing intense training with Juzo-san.
In my heart, I apologized to the two girls, who were likely enjoying themselves at the sports festival after-party.
After our talk with Juzo-san ended, we moved to Yuji’s room to decide on a hotel for tomorrow. However, the search proved unexpectedly difficult.
"Ah, no good. They say they’re fully booked for tomorrow, too."
"Sigh, that’s the third place now."
We searched for explorer-friendly hotels recommended by the Association while staring at the PC screen, but everywhere was fully booked.
"It looks like we’ll have to stay at a regular hotel after all."
"But at a regular hotel, gear storage is the issue..."
I scratched my head at Yuji’s words. Many explorer-oriented hotels were equipped with sturdy gun lockers to store swords and other weapons, but regular hotels rarely had those facilities. For the sake of security and theft prevention, the Association recommended that explorers use accommodations with proper equipment whenever possible.
"Hey, you two, look at this. The room rate is a bit high, but this hotel seems to have rooms equipped with those kinds of facilities."
"Let’s see."
As Yuji and I were staring at the monitor, Hiiragi-san turned her smartphone screen toward us.
"Ah, you’re right. It specifically mentions gun lockers. But..."
"18,000 yen for one night including breakfast... that’s pricey."
"It’s certainly expensive compared to the 4,980-yen room-only rate at the places the Association recommends, but it can’t be helped if there are no other options. Besides, it says here that the final check-in is fine until 11:00 PM, so we can stay in the dungeon until quite late."
"..." "..."
Just as Hiiragi-san said, since there were no other hotels available, we had no choice but to go with this one. After a brief silence, Yuji and I nodded.
"Alright. Let’s book it."
"Yeah. It’s not like we can sleep outside, after all."
"It’s settled then. I’ll start the reservation."
Hiiragi-san began calling the hotel.
"...Ah, hello? Yes, I’d like to make a reservation for tomorrow. Yes, five people. I’d like two rooms—two males and three females... Ah, is that alright? Then, I’ll go with the plan that includes breakfast."
Seeing that the reservation was going through, Hiiragi-san gave us an 'OK' sign. After providing the names and other details, she brought up the biggest hurdle.
"Ah, and also, we’re just high school students who are explorers. Is that alright?...Ah, I see. So as long as we have parental consent forms, it’s okay for high schoolers to stay by themselves? A sample of the form is on the website... I understand. We’ll bring those with us. Yes. Then, I’ll see you tomorrow."
Hiiragi-san hung up and turned toward us.
"The reservation is complete. However, as you heard, they want parental consent forms since we’re all minors."
"Consent forms, huh... well, it seems like a high-class hotel. It’s only natural they’d want something in writing."
"Right. Oh, and Hirose-kun, the sample form is on their website. Could you print out enough copies for everyone?"
"Yeah, sure. Just a second."
Yuji opened the page and printed the required number of minor accommodation consent forms.
"Here, one for everyone."
"Thank you, Hirose-kun."
"Thanks, Yuji."
Hiiragi-san and I took the papers. One per person... I’d take Mika’s home, and as for Saori-chan’s, I’d just drop it in her mailbox.
With the hotel settled, Hiiragi-san and I left Yuji’s house. On the way home, she brought up the bear costume we hadn't used for the demonstration.
"So, Kokonoe-kun? What are you going to do with it in the end?"
"Even if you ask me... I don’t have any plans for it, so I guess I’ll just have to put it away for a while."
"...I see. Even though we went through the trouble of making it, it’s just going to gather dust in a closet."
"Um... well, sorry."
Hiiragi-san looked down with a disappointed expression, and I apologized. Did she like that thing that much?
"Ah, um... Hiiragi-san? If you want, would you like to keep the bear costume? Even if I keep it, I’ll just be hiding it away. I thought maybe you could use it as decor for your shop or something..."
I’d seen shops with taxidermied animal heads or birds before, so a bear... actually, even as I said it, I realized it was a stretch. Hiiragi-san gave a wry smile.
"I can’t exactly use it as shop decor. Even if it is stylized, customers would be shocked if they walked into a ramen shop and saw a bear skin hanging on the wall."
"T-That’s true..."
"Ah, but if you’ll let me take care of it, I think I will. Is that okay?"
"Ah, yeah."
My decor suggestion was rejected, but Hiiragi-san agreed to take custody of the costume.
When I dropped her off at her house, I had a bit of a disagreement—or rather, I got a lecture—from Eiji-san regarding tomorrow. However, with Miyuki-san’s support, we successfully secured permission for Hiiragi-san to stay out. I didn't have any improper intentions, but I suppose parents with daughters would naturally worry.
After parting with Hiiragi-san, I stopped by Saori-chan’s house to drop the consent form in her mailbox before finally arriving home. I’d have to email her later about the plans and the form.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back."
Mother’s voice came from the living room. Entering with my bag still in hand, I saw my parents sitting on the sofa watching TV.
"You're late, Daiki."
"I took a bit of a detour. Where's Mika?"
"She came home once, then went out again for a sports festival after-party."
It seemed Mika had come back to change out of her uniform.
"Ah, that’s right. Father, Mother, could you sign this for me?"
"Hmm? What is it?"
I handed them the consent forms Yuji had printed.
"Starting tomorrow, we’re going into a dungeon for an overnight stay. These are the consent forms needed for high schoolers to stay at the hotel we booked."
"An overnight stay... are you going on a trip right after the sports festival?"
"It’s not exactly a trip, but yeah. I felt like we absolutely had to do this."
"..." "..."
My parents stared at the forms with troubled expressions. It was only natural to be bewildered when asked to sign for an overnight trip out of the blue.
"...Since there are two forms, that means Mika is going too, right?"
"Yeah. Actually, the whole point of this stay is to train Mika and Saori-chan in the dungeon."
"I see. For Mika and Saori-chan, huh..."
Mother shifted her gaze to me, her eyes searching for my true intentions. After a few seconds, she let out a sigh and picked up a pen from the table.
"Well, fine. But don’t get too carried away just because it’s a trip without adults, okay?"
"Yeah, I know. I’ll make sure we’re responsible."
"I wonder about that..."
Even as she teased me, she signed the forms.
Good. With this, the greatest obstacle to tomorrow’s expedition was overcome. I took the two signed forms, feeling a surge of determination for the success of our trip.