I silenced the alarm clock blaring by my bedside, rubbed my eyes, and sat up to stretch.
"...Morning, huh."
Gazing at the sky through the gap in the curtains as it began to pale, I let out a drowsy mutter, stifling a yawn. A year ago today, the sports festival would have left every joint in my body aching with muscle pain... but this year, I felt nothing at all.
Then again, a mere sports festival wasn't enough to give me sore muscles anymore.
"...Time to move."
Fighting off the temptation to crawl back under the covers, I reluctantly rolled out of bed, cracked the window open to let in some fresh air, and left my room. As I headed down the stairs, the aroma of breakfast drifted up from below. It seemed Mother was already awake.
"...Morning."
"Oh, Daiki? Good morning."
When I stepped into the living room, Mother, who was sitting on the sofa watching the news, looked up to greet me.
"You're up early. Is something wrong?"
"No, I’m just heading out for an overnight trip today. I wanted to give my luggage a final check to make sure I didn't forget anything."
"Oh? I thought you got everything ready yesterday."
"I did, but I was in such a rush that I might have missed something. You know how it is—it's easier to spot mistakes if you let a little time pass rather than checking right after you finish packing. You're less likely to overlook things that way."
"I suppose so..."
Mother looked convinced by my reasoning.
Checking your bags immediately after packing is surprisingly unreliable. You tend to convince yourself you put something in just because you meant to.
"Well, I’m going to go wash up and then head back to my room."
"All right. Make sure you have everything."
"I will."
I left the living room, feeling refreshed after washing my face, and returned to my room for the final inspection.
"Now then, let's get this over with."
My gear for this trip consisted of my standard explorer set and a small shoulder bag containing a change of clothes for the two-day, one-night stay. I checked the explorer set with practiced efficiency before moving on to the overnight kit I’d scrambled to put together last night. Sure enough, I found an omission.
A toothbrush, of all things.
"Hmm. Should I just buy one at a convenience store on the way? Or I could just use the complimentary one at the hotel..."
After a moment’s thought, I decided to stick with whatever the hotel provided. Stopping at a shop on the way felt like too much of a hassle.
Ten minutes later, I finished my inventory.
"Right. That’s everything. No more oversights besides the toothbrush."
I moved the bags next to the door and swapped my loungewear for outdoor clothes. As I was finishing up, I heard a door open and footsteps in the hallway. It sounded like Mika was finally on the move.
Well, time to head down for breakfast.
When I returned to the living room, I found that Father was up as well.
"Morning, Father. Morning, Mika."
"Hm? Oh, morning."
"...Morning."
Father looked up from his newspaper, while Mika replied with a bleary-eyed gaze and a tired voice.
"You're down, Daiki. I'll have breakfast ready in a second, so take a seat."
"Sure."
"And Mika, go wash your face. You look like a mess."
"...Okay."
Following Mother's lead, I moved to the sofa while Mika shuffled toward the washroom.
Once I sat down, Father spread out the newspaper so I could see it.
"Good job yesterday, Daiki. Look, there’s an article about the sports festival in today's paper."
"Wait, where?"
For a heartbeat, I panicked, thinking our "performance" had made the front page, but the article Father pointed out was about the sudden directive issued yesterday. It was just a small, few-line piece tucked away in a corner.
"Let’s see... 'Confusion at high school sports festivals nationwide following abrupt event restrictions by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.' Yeah, that definitely caused a stir. Wait... 'Outraged parents flood the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology with protest calls'?"
"They canceled more than half the events without warning. For parents who took the day off to see their kids compete, I’m sure they had a few choice words for the bureaucracy."
"Protest calls, though... people certainly have a lot of energy."
I pushed the newspaper back toward Father and leaned back into the sofa.
Folding the paper, Father looked at me.
"You’re staying busy, Daiki. Heading out again today?"
"Oh, the overnight expedition?"
"Yeah. You've never stayed overnight at a dungeon before. Why the sudden rush?"
Father watched me with a curious expression.
"Well... there are reasons. I figured I should help Mika and Saori-chan gain some real experience as explorers sooner rather than later."
"Reasons, huh? Does this have anything to do with why you kids were so... enthusiastic at the sports festival yesterday?"
"Enthusiastic?"
"You kids usually don't like to show off your strength as explorers, yet you put on quite the display yesterday. I figured there had to be a reason behind it."
"..."
The issue with the repeating students... and Goto. I hadn’t explained the details, but it seemed Father had sensed that we were dealing with some kind of trouble.
As I sat there, debating how much to tell him, Father let out a small sigh and a wry smile.
"Well, just don't do anything reckless. And if you ever need to talk, come to me. I can at least offer a listening ear."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
I felt a surge of gratitude for his concern and gave a short, quiet nod.
A comfortable silence settled between us for a few minutes until the living room door swung open and Mika returned, her face freshly washed.
"Good morning!"
Unlike her groggy greeting from earlier, her voice was bright and full of excitement.
"Morning, Mika."
"...You seem to be in high spirits."
"Of course! It’s the first time we’re all going on a trip together! I’ve been looking forward to this since yesterday!"
"Ah, right. It’s an expedition, though, not a vacation. The main goal is to raise your and Saori-chan's levels in the dungeon."
"I know that! But we're staying in a hotel together, so..."
"...Well, as long as you don't stay up so late that it affects you the next day, I guess you can have some fun once we're out of the dungeon."
"Yay!"
I wondered if Mika and Saori-chan would actually have the physical or mental energy left for fun after a day of dungeon attacking. Then again, girls seemed to have a "second wind" reserved specifically for having fun, much like a separate stomach for dessert.
I watched Mika rejoice over her imagined "girls' night" with a look of mild amusement.
"Breakfast is served, everyone. Come sit down."
"Okay!"
At Mother's call, the three of us took our usual seats at the table.
Our meeting time was coming up soon. Better eat fast.
After finishing our meal, Mika and I brushed our teeth and went back to our rooms to finish our final preparations. In my case, I was already dressed, so I just had to grab my bags. I picked up my gear and headed back to the living room.
On my way, I heard a lot of frantic banging coming from Mika's room... Was she really not ready yet?
"Oh, you're quick, Daiki."
When I entered the living room, Father and Mother were sitting on the sofa, nursing their coffees.
"...Is that all your luggage for an overnight trip? It doesn't look any different from your usual gear. Did you send the rest ahead by courier?"
"This is it. It’s just one change of clothes and some toiletries."
Father seemed puzzled that my bags didn't look any bulkier than usual. I held up the small shoulder bag to show him it was the only extra item. Though, a courier service wasn't a bad idea—for a long-term stay, sending a suitcase ahead to the hotel would be pretty convenient.
I set my bags in the corner, poured myself a glass of barley tea from the fridge, and joined them on the sofa.
"Daiki? Isn't Mika coming down with you?"
"I heard a lot of scurrying in her room just now. I think she’ll be another minute."
"I see... You'll still make it in time to meet your friends, right?"
"We're fine. Even with the walk to the station, we’ve got twenty minutes before we absolutely have to leave."
"Good."
I sipped my tea and watched the TV. Since it was Sunday, a variety show was on. They were currently doing a segment on sweets.
Apparently, pudding made with dungeon-sourced eggs was the latest craze.
"Dungeon ingredients have really become part of everyday life, haven't they?"
"They have. And it's only been a little over six months since they started hitting the market."
"You see them in the supermarket all the time now," Mother added. "Though they're usually in a special section and treated as luxury goods."
"Like branded Wagyu beef used to be."
"Price-wise, exactly."
When the dungeons were first opened to the public and drop ingredients began to circulate, they were only sold at high-end department stores. Now you can find them at the local grocer. No wonder the purchase prices for drop food items have dropped. In the beginning, the balance of supply and demand was so skewed that even basic items fetched a premium... those were the days. It really goes to show that the pioneers make the profit while the latecomers get the scraps.
As we were killing time with idle chatter, the door opened and Mika finally appeared, lugging her bags.
"You took your time, Mika... Wait, what is that? How many nights are you planning to stay?"
"A girl needs a lot of things for an overnight trip!"
"I get that, but... a Boston bag that big?"
The bag Mika was carrying was the massive sort used by varsity athletes, in addition to her usual explorer set. Even if she planned to leave it at the hotel, it seemed like overkill for a single night.
"Anyway, everything in here is essential!"
"A-Alright. If you say so..."
"It is!"
I let out a soft sigh at her confidence and glanced at the clock. Ah, it really was time to go.
"Well, as long as you're ready. We need to leave now if we want to stay on schedule. You good?"
"Yup, let's go!"
I stood up and grabbed my bags.
"Alright, we're off. Father, Mother—see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, be careful. Take care of Mika, Daiki."
"Be safe. Mika, listen to your brother and don't get hurt."
"You can count on me!"
"Bye!"
After saying our goodbyes, Mika and I headed out the door. And so, our first overnight expedition began.
When we reached the station rotary a few minutes before our meeting time, I noticed something... odd. We were drawing a lot of attention. I scanned the area and saw groups of people our age whispering to each other behind their hands while looking our way—or specifically, looking at me.
Are they students from our school?
"...Hey, Onii-chan? Are people staring at us?"
"It... seems that way."
"Do you think they're from our school?"
"Probably. We did make a huge scene at the sports festival yesterday. It wouldn't be surprising if people recognized us."
"Oh..."
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Mika and I retreated toward a nearby wall to get out of the direct line of sight. It helped a little, but the feeling of being watched didn't fade. Dammit. If I’d known it would be this bad, I would have brought a hat or glasses to use as a disguise.
Left with no other choice, Mika and I both pulled out our phones and pretended to be busy with them, fervently praying for the other three to arrive soon.