With Saori-chan still clinging to Mika’s arm, we hurried through the school gates at a brisk pace, ignoring the curious stares pricking us from all sides. Once we were inside the school grounds, the lack of outsiders seemed to lower the students' psychological barrier; the crowd that had been observing us from a distance began to close in.
And then...
"U-Um! E-Excuse me!"
A trio of first-year girls—the same grade as Mika and Saori-chan—stepped forward from the mass of students who had been sizing each other up, waiting for the right moment to speak. Their voices were thick with tension.
One of them finally plucked up her courage.
"U-Um, well... are you the ones from the... Entrepreneurship Research Circle?"
"Eh? Ah... yeah. We are. Is there something you need?"
"I knew it!"
The moment I confirmed her question, the expressions of the three girls, which had been stiff with anxiety and nerves, instantly brightened. They had seen our faces and the name of our circle during the sports festival demonstration, but since they’d only seen us from a distance, they hadn't been certain it was really us.
Suddenly, the girls began firing questions at us with overwhelming intensity.
"That demonstration was incredible! How did you manage to move like that?!"
"To be able to move that way, what floor have you reached in the dungeon?!"
"Please shake my hand!"
They threw out every question they could think of in a single breath without even waiting for an answer. The surrounding students watched the scene with rapt interest, holding their breath as they waited to see how we would respond.
"Uh, well, the demonstration was just the result of a lot of practice. As for the floors, we’ve passed the 15th. And as for the rest..."
I gave them short, vague answers while fulfilling their requests for handshakes. It would be problematic to give them too many details. It was a bit too provocative, for lack of a better word.
As I spent a few moments answering their questions, I felt a tug on the back of my uniform. I looked back to see Mika wearing a slightly miffed expression, tapping the face of her watch with her finger. Wait—ah!
"Ah... sorry, everyone. We have to get going. The warning bell is about to ring, so we’ll have to leave the questions at that."
"Eh... Ah!"
After I told them that, I took a good look around and realized the number of students watching our exchange had dwindled significantly. It seemed those who had grown bored or remembered the time had already made their exit.
The students who had remained to watch also seemed to panic slightly at my words and began jogging toward the shoe lockers.
"W-We’re so sorry! We didn't realize it was so late..."
"No, it’s fine. We’re not late yet. But if we stay any longer, we really will be... so, sorry, okay?"
"No! We’re the ones who should be sorry, peppering you with questions without thinking about the time..."
The girls gave us a quick bow and then ran off toward the lockers, perhaps to hide their embarrassment.
"...Whew. Sorry, you two."
"It’s okay. It wasn't really Onii-chan's fault, so you don't have to apologize. Right, Saori-chan?"
"Yeah. But... Onii-san? If it’s like this just getting to school..."
"It’ll be even more of a circus once we get to our classrooms... Sigh."
I couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh. This was what happened the moment we stepped onto school grounds. I could only imagine the barrage of questions waiting for us in the classroom. It was nothing but depressing.
However, there was no point in moping forever. I gave my head a light shake, then turned back to Mika and Saori-chan.
"Well, shall we go? If we stay here, we’re going to be late."
"Yeah, I guess....My legs feel heavy just thinking about the classroom, though."
"True. Thinking back to after the sports festival, I bet they’re going to dig into every little detail..."
With heavy steps, we made our way to the lockers.
We walked the path to our classrooms while enduring the whispers of students gossiping about our demonstration and the gazes of awe, respect, envy, and jealousy directed our way. It was incredibly uncomfortable.
When I finally reached my classroom door, I took a small, deep breath to calm my nerves and then pushed it open with resolve.
"...Morning."
I offered a quiet greeting as I stepped inside. The eyes of the classmates sitting near the door snapped to me for a split second. And then...
"Hm? Oh, Kokonoe! Morning!"
"Wait, Kokonoe-kun?!"
"What, Kokonoe's here?!"
Triggered by the response of the classmate near the door, every single person in the room turned their gaze toward me at once. I had a very bad feeling about this.
That intuition was proven correct immediately.
"You guys were amazing the other day! How did you do that?!"
"That fight looked like something straight out of an anime or a manga!"
"Kokonoe-kun, you were actually an amazing explorer this whole time! Why were you hiding your strength?!"
The storm of questions began anew. Furthermore, because they were my classmates, they were far less reserved than the three first-year girls had been. I was swarmed by my male classmates, and as questions flew at me from every direction, I finally raised my voice.
"Hey, pipe down! I can't answer if you all talk at once! If you want to ask something, do it one at a time!"
The classmates crowding me looked surprised for a moment, but that seemed to be the catalyst for them to calm down. With slightly apologetic expressions, they gave me some breathing room.
"Ah, sorry, Kokonoe."
"No, I’m sorry too. I might have been a bit too harsh."
"Don't worry about it. We were the ones in the wrong. Anyway, put your bag down."
"...Right."
I placed my school bag at my seat and then looked back at everyone to hear their questions. I couldn't tell them everything, but it was probably better to answer the ones I could.
Even so... Yuji and Hiiragi-san hadn't arrived yet.
"Alright, I’ll answer your questions... but one at a time, okay?"
"Yeah, we get it. Though since we don't have much time, I’ll just ask the one everyone’s interested in," Shigemori said, stepping forward as the representative. "How were you able to pull off such an incredible demonstration?"
Well, this was a question I could answer honestly.
"Uh... you guys know Yuji’s family runs a martial arts dojo, right?"
"Yeah, I think I’ve heard that."
Shigemori and the other guys seemed to know, but some of the girls were hearing it for the first time; they exchanged shocked looks with their friends. I suppose it wasn't the kind of thing you'd hear unless you were interested.
"We asked Yuji’s grandfather to coach us on how to make the demonstration look impressive."
"I see, so that’s why it had such an impact."
"Yeah. Though he really only taught us the basic forms. Most of the reason it looked so flashy was thanks to our physical abilities as explorers."
"True. No one but an explorer could move that fast."
Thanks to Shigemori, who already knew the situation to some extent, acting as the questioner, the conversation didn't derail too much, which was a relief. Though the girls and some of the boys were still making a fuss in their amazement.
"It was a flashy demonstration to begin with, performed with explorer physical specs. Of course it was going to be quite a sight."
"That’s true. I see similar demonstrations on video sites sometimes, but... how do I put it? They have impact, but they lack a viewer’s perspective. I guess having proper instruction really makes a difference..."
"There might be exceptions, but for amateurs like us, doing it without guidance is out of the question."
Shigemori nodded several times as if fully convinced, and the other classmates followed suit, nodding with somewhat vague expressions but appearing satisfied for now. I think I managed to gloss over it.
As I was answering everyone’s questions...
"Morning."
Yuji entered the classroom with a weary greeting, his face looking haggard and exhausted. The classmates who had been surrounding me naturally made a path for him, and Yuji walked through it to take his seat.
He looked incredibly drained... I guess he’d been hit with a storm of questions too.
"Uh... morning, Yuji."
"...Yeah, morning," Yuji replied with a small sigh as I spoke up hesitantly.
"What’s wrong? You look exhausted..."
"A bit. On my way to school, I got caught by people who saw 'that' video and they wouldn't stop questioning me."
"Uh... were they people from our school?"
"No. Their uniforms were different, so they were from another school."
Yuji was even getting stopped by students from other schools. That meant the video had spread even further than I’d anticipated...
One of our classmates, who had overheard our conversation and recognized the video we were talking about, spoke up.
"Ah, I know that one! You mean the cheering competition from the sports festival, right?! Oh... it’s been deleted now, but with those kinds of view counts, people from other schools would definitely know about it!"
"Oh! I saw that video too! The angle was pretty far back, but the impact was amazing!"
It turned out there were people in our class who had seen the video as well. Furthermore, it seemed quite a few people had seen it, and the whole class began buzzing with talk about the footage.
And then...
"That’s awesome, Kokonoe, Hirose! You guys are like minor celebrities!"
"Maybe you’ll even get scouted by a famous company!"
A nearby boy patted Yuji and me on the shoulders, praising us for being celebrities.
But...
We aren't happy about this at all!
From our perspective, there was nothing to celebrate. Considering the Drawer Dungeon and the situation with Goto and his group, the public scrutiny and the resulting surveillance and restrictions on our movements were nothing but a hindrance.
Certainly, as they said, being famous might bring benefits like being scouted by companies, but for us, fame was nothing but a disadvantage.
"Huh? You guys aren't happy?"
"Yeah. Not one bit! Think about it. One day, people suddenly start approaching you saying, 'I’m a fan!'"
"And it’s not just one or two people; it’s groups of dozens," Yuji and I explained with fed-up expressions and weary tones. The male student began to consider that scenario.
And then...
"..."
"...See? You wouldn't like it, right? It would be one thing if you chose to become famous by appearing on TV or in magazines, but it’s another thing entirely when you’re being put on a pedestal against your will."
"Yeah, I guess so. Sorry. I’d probably be fed up too if a bunch of people like that suddenly showed up."
The male student gave us a light bow and apologized. Whew. I was glad he understood our struggle.
If only the commotion would settle down, at least in our classroom...
"But even so, why did you guys keep it a secret that you were that amazing until now? You could have at least told us!"
No luck, huh... Yuji and I continued to answer questions with weary expressions, blurring the details of things we couldn't talk about.
After answering questions for a while, the warning bell rang.
The moment the bell sounded, Shigemori, who had been acting as the moderator, clapped his hands to get the attention of our excited classmates.
"Alright, alright, everyone! The warning bell just rang, so that’s it for the questions. Everyone, get back to your seats before the final bell."
Prompted by Shigemori’s words, the Q&A session came to an end. My classmates grumbled and complained under their breaths, but they understood the time limit and obediently returned to their seats.
Just as most people had settled in, the sound of the rear door opening echoed through the classroom.
"Morning."
Hiiragi-san walked in, her expression as unconcerned as ever.
"O-Oh, morning, Hiiragi-san. It’s rare for you to come in after the warning bell. Did you have something to take care of?"
A female student sitting near the rear entrance greeted her.
"Not particularly. I didn't have any specific business."
"O-Oh, I see."
"But I figured if I came to school at the usual time, I’d be hit with a storm of questions about the sports festival, so I delayed my departure time. Thanks to that, I didn't run into anyone trying to question me on the way."
"Ah, so that’s why you’re cutting it so close."
"Yes, exactly as planned."
After giving that answer, Hiiragi-san walked leisurely to her seat.
Becoming unexpectedly popular when you didn't want to... it really was nothing but a nuisance.