The morning rush filled the classroom with noise, but I—no, the three of us—were slumped powerlessly over our desks. We had finally been released from Genya-san’s disastrous training, but we were forced back to school without even a single day of rest. Physically, I was fine, but mentally? I was beyond exhausted. I really wanted a day off to recover. Just one day. Seriously.
Listening to my classmates chatter about how much fun they’d had over the weekend now that tests were over only made me feel more depressed. I found myself wondering, What are we even doing with our lives?
"Whoa, what’s wrong, Kokonoe? Tests are finally over, and it’s the start of a new week where you can play without a care in the world, right?"
Someone spoke to me in a voice that was equal parts concern and exasperation as I lay listlessly on my desk.
"…Hm? Oh, it’s you, Shigemori."
I languidly lifted my head just enough to peek up at the speaker. Shigemori stood there with a look of disbelief, leaning over to peer into my face. At my half-hearted response, he let out a short sigh.
"'It's you, Shigemori,' huh? That’s cold. I came over because I was worried about you."
"Ah, sorry. I’m just a little tired…"
Realizing I’d been rude, I forced my heavy, sluggish upper body up and turned to face him.
"…You really do look exhausted. Did something happen over the weekend?"
"Yeah, just a little something."
"A 'little something,' huh? Even though Hirose and Hiiragi-san, the two people you’re always with, are also dead to the world?"
As he spoke, Shigemori glanced toward two other spots in the room—Yuji’s and Hiiragi-san’s desks. Yuji, who would normally have jumped into the conversation, didn't seem to have the energy; he remained slumped over, though I suspected he was still listening. As for Hiiragi-san, she was completely silent. She was so unresponsive that I wondered if she’d actually fallen asleep.
With all of us like this, my "little something" excuse had zero credibility.
"…Did you go to a dungeon over the weekend? Did something happen in there?"
"…"
If only that were the case; it might have been better. I couldn't exactly tell him the truth: that I’d been drugged with sleeping pills and chased through the mountains for three days by a group of people with paintball guns. He’d probably just ask me what kind of weird new bullying I’d gotten myself into.
Worse, if I told him I planned to do it again, he’d definitely look at me like I was a freak. Was I cornered?
"…"
"Hey?"
"Ah, well… something certainly happened."
I averted my gaze, my eyes darting around as I tried to come up with a harmless excuse—or rather, a justification for our state. I needed a reason for our exhaustion that wouldn't make us look like lunatics.
"Well, you see… actually, over the weekend, I took Yuji up on an invitation and went to his family's dojo."
"Oh, right. Hirose did mention his family runs one."
"Yeah. And the reason he invited us was for an exchange meeting with other martial arts schools."
An invitation from Yuji (at Juzo-san’s suggestion) to participate in an exchange (playing tag in the mountains at night) with another school (Genya-san and his group)… Technically, I wasn't lying.
"An exchange meeting? Does that really leave you this tired? I always pictured those as a bit of talking followed by a big party."
"There are all kinds of exchange meetings. The one you’re imagining is definitely on the more casual side."
"Which means yours was the very formal, stiff kind?"
"Instead of stiff… I’d say it was rough."
It was an exchange meeting where paintball rounds came flying the second you let your guard down. It definitely wasn't the kind of gathering where you wore formal clothes and discussed philosophy. Though, even if it had been that kind of meeting, I probably would have been just as fed up and mentally drained.
"Rough?"
"In short, it was an exchange of sparring matches. Since Hiiragi-san and I are explorers, we figured we should at least have a basic grasp of martial arts, so we’ve been training at Yuji’s place. Because of that, we were invited to participate as disciples."
"Huh, I see. And because of that exchange, all of you are this wiped out?"
I nodded silently, confirming his theory. Shigemori seemed mostly convinced, but a look of doubt remained as he asked another question.
"But still, even for a rough exchange, could it really be that tiring? Wouldn’t it be over after a few matches?"
"Even if it lasted for three days straight?"
"Wait, what? Three days?"
"From Friday evening until Sunday afternoon, the exchange lasted three full days. We were forced to spar dozens of times during that period…"
As I stared off into the distance while recounting the duration, Shigemori’s face twitched, and he hastily tried to cut me off.
"Sorry, Kokonoe. Yeah, if you spent three days like that, of course you’d be exhausted in body and soul."
"Physically, we held up because we're explorers, but there was no time to rest. Every time we thought we could take a break, we’d immediately get an 'invitation' to spar again…"
"Enough, I get it. For now, just take it easy so it doesn't mess with your classes, okay?"
With a voice full of awkwardness and pity, Shigemori tried to end the conversation. I was radiating a pretty hollow aura, after all. Normally, when someone hears a story like that, they scramble to change the subject.
I looked straight at Shigemori’s flustered face and gave a small nod.
"Yeah. Thanks. I think I’ll do that."
"Right, right. You definitely should rest."
"Yeah."
After that brief acknowledgment, I slumped back over my desk. Sigh… I just can't find any motivation today.
I managed to survive the morning classes while feeling like I’d collapse the moment I stopped paying attention. Finally, lunch break arrived. As usual, I’d brought my lunch box to the clubroom, but… no one touched their food.
"…"
The three of us sat before our meals, silently and unconsciously scanning the room to see if anyone was hiding. After about a minute of perimeter checks, we finally let out sighs of relief. We glanced at each other, and only then did Hiiragi-san and I reach for our food.
"!? Wait!? What are we doing?! Why are we doing this here in the clubroom?!"
!?
At Yuji’s sudden outburst—or rather, his critique—Hiiragi-san and I froze mid-reach, looks of shock on our faces. He was right! Why were we instinctively setting up a watch rotation just to eat lunch in our own clubroom?!
"…"
Our expressions twitched as we exchanged silent glances, then awkwardly looked away from each other. Yeah, this was definitely a negative side effect of Genya-san’s training.
"…What are you guys doing, Onii-chan? The atmosphere in here is like a funeral."
The door swung open, and a voice full of exasperation cut through the heavy air. I reflexively looked toward the door to see Mika standing there with a mix of confusion and disbelief. The three juniors standing behind her looked even more unsettled.
"…"
The three of us froze at their arrival. Great. They saw us in a completely pathetic state.
"Sigh… We’re coming in."
While we remained frozen, Mika and the others entered. Mika took her seat looking exasperated, while the three juniors followed suit with cautious steps, watching us with timid curiosity. An awkward silence filled the room.
But then…
"Are those habits from the weekend training still sticking with you? Like during dinner last night or breakfast this morning?"
The three juniors, who didn't understand what she meant, tilted their heads. Meanwhile, Yuji and Hiiragi-san turned surprised gazes toward me. With a bitter expression, I gave a small nod.
"Yeah. When the three of us are together… it just happens."
"I see… Don't push yourselves, okay?"
"Yeah, sorry for making you worry."
I thanked Mika, recalling how the atmosphere during dinner last night had been even worse. I reached for my lunch box, and that seemed to be the signal for the heavy atmosphere to break. Everyone else began reaching for their own lunches as well.
That’s right. There was no need to be on guard for enemy attacks in the clubroom. I’d looked forward to this lunch; I should just eat it.
"…By the way, seniors? What kind of training did you actually do over the weekend?"
"...!"
Once we’d finished most of our food and were relaxing with some tea, Hino-san suddenly asked about the training. I’d told them we were going to a camp, so it made sense she’d be curious. However, the three of us instinctively stiffened, sending a jolt of tension through the room.
"Eh? Ah, um… was that something I shouldn't have asked?"
Hino-san grew flustered at our reaction, thinking she’d stepped on a landmine.
"Ah, no. It’s not like it was anything bad, but…"
I tried to soothe her, but I wasn't sure how to explain it. I could give them the same cover story I gave Shigemori, but Mika and Saori-chan were listening—and they were explorers, even if they were beginners. I didn't want to give them a weird explanation that might give them the wrong idea about training.
In that case, would it be better to just be honest?
"…What do you two think?"
"I don't think it matters if we tell them," Yuji said. "It’s not like we were doing anything illegal."
"True," Hiiragi-san added. "It’s probably not something we should broadcast to the whole school, but for an internal discussion, it’s fine. Besides, being vague might just lead to weird misunderstandings."
"I guess so."
Despite my own hesitation, the juniors were looking at us with intense curiosity. I decided to tell them the truth, even though I knew they’d be horrified. I turned toward the four of them and began to explain exactly what we’d done over the weekend.
When I finished…
…
Every single one of them sat there with their faces twitching, staring at us in stunned silence. Well, that was the expected reaction. But I couldn't let them stay like that forever.
"Hey, you guys okay?"
I waved my hand in front of their faces to bring them back, but the shock seemed deeper than I’d anticipated. They wouldn't snap out of it.
No good, huh… then…
I extended my hands in front of my chest and clapped them together with a sharp, explosive crack—a kashiwade. The sound was surprisingly loud, echoing through the clubroom.
At the sound of the clap, Mika and the others jumped, and the light of consciousness returned to their vacant eyes.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah.…Wait, no! What was that training?! You guys actually did stuff like that?!"
The moment she regained her senses, Mika practically screamed in shock. The other three didn't say a word, but they nodded their heads frantically in agreement.
"Ah, yeah. Well, yeah."
"No way… I can't believe it. You really went through that…"
I confirmed that I hadn't exaggerated, and Mika fell silent, looking completely speechless.
"Look, it was definitely harsh training, but there's no doubt it’s something you should do if you can. It’s much better to experience a hard time during training and prepare your mindset than to suffer during the main event. Why? Because a failure during the main event leads directly to major injuries."
"…"
"The truth is, because we underwent this training, we realized for the first time just how serious the drop in performance due to fatigue really is. People often say during mountain climbing, 'If you can't turn back while you still have strength left, you'll reach a point where you can't turn back at all.' It was exactly like that. Even when we tried to rest during the training, if we didn't have any margin left, the rest didn't actually help us recover."
Especially on the third day, I felt like I was actually getting more tired even while I was supposed to be resting. The training really hammered home the importance of maintaining a margin of safety and learning how to properly manage the accumulation of fatigue.
The four juniors sat in silence with serious expressions, trying to digest what I'd said, but I’d talked longer than I intended. We were out of time. The chime signaling the end of lunch break rang through the school.
"We’re out of time. Let's head out. Everyone, don't get so caught up in thought that you’re late for class, okay?"
"…Yes."
"We can continue the talk after school. If you have questions, I'll answer them then."
The four of them still looked like they hadn't quite processed everything, but we couldn't be late for the afternoon session. We quickly cleaned up our lunch boxes, ushered the four reluctant juniors out, and locked the clubroom door.
Now then, time to survive the rest of the day.