After hanging up the receiver following my talk with Juzo, I let out a small sigh. I spent a moment reflecting on the consultation and composed myself before calling out to the hallway.
"Hey! Is anyone there?"
"...Yes. How can I help you?"
A few moments later, a domestic worker in an apron peered around the corner.
"I’m sorry to bother you while you're busy, but could you call Muroi-kun for me?"
"Of course. Shall I tell Muroi-san to come to your room, Master Genya?"
"No, tell him to come to Morito’s room. I have something I need to discuss with the both of them."
"Understood."
The woman gave a polite bow and hurried off, moving quickly without looking like she was in a frantic rush.
I made my way to Morito’s office. Upon arriving, I knocked lightly on the door and spoke.
"Morito, do you have a moment?"
"Hm? Oh, Father? Yes, come in."
"I'm coming in."
When I entered, Morito was seated at his executive desk, buried in paperwork.
"What brings you here, Father? It’s a bit late for a visit."
"I have something I want to consult with you about."
"I see. In that case, let’s talk over there."
At Morito’s prompting, I sat on the reception sofa in the corner of the room. Morito poured two cups of coffee from the office server and sat down directly across from me.
"Here you go."
"Thank you. I'll take it."
As I took a sip, Morito got straight to the point.
"So, Father. What’s this about?"
"Actually, I just got off the phone with Juzo."
"Juzo-san? Is he calling to request an exchange match or something?"
"An exchange... well, I suppose you could call it a type of exchange match."
I nodded several times, agreeing that Morito’s phrasing held a grain of truth. Morito, however, gave me a dubious look at my reaction.
I cleared my throat to reset the conversation and relayed the details of the call.
"The matter Juzo consulted me on was whether we could provide training for his grandson, Yuji-kun, and his friends."
"For Yuji-kun and the others? But Father, didn't we already put them through training?"
"We did. But it seems the training requested this time has a significantly different purpose. Apparently, they’re planning to conduct explorations involving a dungeon stay during their upcoming summer vacation."
"A dungeon stay... Wait, what? They’ve never stayed overnight in a dungeon before!?"
Morito stared at me, his eyes wide with genuine shock. It was a natural reaction. In modern dungeon exploration, common sense dictates that any dive into the deep floors involves setting up camp inside for several days. This is especially true for those seeking the high-grade recovery potions we received for Ririka’s sake—to get those, one has to defeat an area boss in the middle floors, which starts at the 30th floor at the very least.
That meant these kids had been reaching the 30th floor and returning to the surface on the same day.
"I was speechless when Juzo told me. I thought he was joking."
"...I-I can see why. Pushing to the 30th floor and back in a single day is reckless. Even so-called high-level explorers wouldn't dream of doing it—honestly, they couldn't do it..."
"But it seems they did. And we saw a glimpse of that potential during our previous session."
"True. If they’re capable of such a feat, I suppose the results of that training aren't so baffling after all."
Recalling the results of the last training camp, I felt a mix of frustration at having my "impossible" challenges cleared and a twinge of guilt. Because they had progressed so smoothly, I had eventually gotten stubborn and deployed our elite personnel toward the end. Yet even then, the students had cleared every objective.
I felt a bit conflicted, wondering if I should have cranked up the difficulty even higher—or if my reaction had been a bit too childish.
"It is surprising, though," Morito continued. "For them to have that kind of power and yet never have attempted a dungeon stay. Since I knew they had high-grade recovery potions, I assumed they had already spent long periods camping in the dungeons during spring break or Golden Week..."
"From what I’ve heard, they aren't actually obsessed with exploration. They seem to value their school and daily lives. They aren't like those children you hear rumors about—the ones who repeat grades or drop out just to live in the dungeons. But that inevitably means the time they can devote to exploration is limited."
The rise in students repeating years or dropping out was a frequent topic in the news. Ever since the Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures was introduced, the number of teenage permit holders has steadily increased. Consequently, it has become a major social issue that many students fail their classes or suffer injuries by overcommitting to dungeon work, leading to them leaving school entirely.
Our Ririka might have been one of them if they hadn't shared that potion with us.
"That's right," Morito agreed. "With that mindset, they probably only explore on Saturdays and Sundays."
"Juzo trains them in the evenings on weekdays, so their skills aren't getting rusty. But as you say, their dungeon time is limited to the weekends. And even then, if they prioritize their daily lives, they probably don't go every single week."
"Spending holidays with family or playing with friends is a vital part of a normal life. Devoting every waking moment to the dungeon is certainly a questionable path."
"Indeed."
I cannot approve of a lifestyle that abandons normalcy to obsess over the dungeon. In that sense, Yuji-kun’s group has a healthy outlook. Though, to be fair, the sheer power they possess is a bit too large for the amount of time they actually spend active.
I realized the conversation had drifted, so I brought us back to the main point.
"Returning to the topic, the training Juzo requested is assault response training during a bivouac."
"Assault response training during a bivouac... Ah, I see. Training for overnight stays. Certainly, the previous curriculum wouldn't be enough for that. That was focused on detecting attackers and traps and evacuating the escort target safely."
"Knowing how to rest safely while exhausted requires a completely different mindset and set of techniques."
If one wants to rest effectively while at peak fatigue, it takes experience to judge the timing. Rest too early, and you limit your progress; rest too late, and your fatigue crosses the point of no return. The larger the group, the harder it is to find that sweet spot. Even with a small party, individual differences in stamina and focus make it a delicate balance. In the military, training ensures a baseline level of uniformity, but it’s a lot to ask of mere high school students, even high-level ones.
Ultimately, there is no substitute for actual experience and learning each other's limits.
"First the last camp, and now this... Juzo-san is certainly strict with them."
"It just shows how much he expects of them. Honestly, their ability to absorb information is fascinating, even putting aside their high level. If they weren't Juzo’s disciples, I’d want to train them myself."
"My, my. You certainly think highly of them, Father."
"Of course. No one could watch that last training session and not be impressed."
In truth, while Yuji-kun and his friends had cleared all the challenges last time, we gained a great deal as well. The biggest win was crushing the arrogance of our own people.
Since the introduction of explorer permits, many of our younger members, led by Ririka, have become explorers. But perhaps because we had explorers within the family, a certain complacency set in. Between the crowded dungeons and Ririka’s group failing to level up efficiently, the physical enhancement they received was negligible. Because of that, our veterans never lost in sparring matches against the younger generation, even if they had to put in a little effort. It led to a dangerous perception in our house: that an explorer’s power wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that we would never lose to amateurs who had power but no training.
"That's true," Morito said. "Because of my work as the head of the family, I’ve had chances to meet high-level explorers from the Self-Defense Forces. That saved me from the misunderstanding everyone else fell into, but if I’d only seen Ririka and the others back then, I might have been fooled as well."
"They say seeing is believing. The men who participated in that training are now taking the lead in developing anti-explorer measures."
The shock must have been profound. Before the training, they complained that there was no point in practicing against amateur explorers. Afterward, their opinions flipped a full 180 degrees.
Now, they’re driven by a terrifying intensity, as if desperate to make up for their previous arrogance.
"Precisely because they are untrained amateurs, their actions are unpredictable. And if an attacker with that kind of power fully utilizes their explorer benefits..."
"As we are now, I cannot say for certain we could protect an escort target."
A person with full explorer benefits—even an amateur—can kill with a single bare-handed strike or turn a common pebble into a projectile as lethal as a bullet. If an explorer becomes an assassin, they don't even need weapons. We are entering an era that requires a fundamentally different approach: we must anticipate attacks from any direction at any time and devise multiple layers of countermeasures.
By training with Yuji-kun’s group, our men realized that this future is already on our doorstep.
"I think this training will be a good opportunity for our side as well," Morito mused. "The ones who were there last time will be eager for a rematch, and we can test out the anti-explorer measures we’ve been developing."
"Now, now, Morito. Don't treat Yuji-kun and the others like experimental animals. They are our benefactors."
"Of course not. But if we're going to train, it's better to make it beneficial for both sides. It keeps things from getting awkward with debts and favors."
"I suppose so. Even Juzo said to do it without holding back."
Good grief, that Juzo... telling me to push his own grandson as hard as possible. I wonder what he’s trying to turn them into. No matter how much power they have, they’re still just high schoolers.
Then again, given the curriculum I’m already dreaming up, I suppose I’m in no position to judge.
"If we're not holding back, then I assume the specifics of the training are left to us again?"
"Indeed. Now then, let's see what would be most effective..."
Morito and I began to brainstorm the training regimen requested by Juzo.
A short while later, Muroi-kun arrived and joined the discussion.
Having been hand-picked by the two top figures of the family, Genya-san and Morito-san, I was busy preparing for the training session for Yuji-kun and the others next week. Since it was a sudden request with a short lead time, I expected the arrangements to be difficult, but everything was proceeding surprisingly smoothly.
Securing the site was easy; we were just using the same mountain as before. Logistical arrangements were simple too—just a matter of restocking food and other consumables. More than anything, though...
"I didn't expect that securing the personnel would be this easy. That’s usually the hardest part."
When I approached the men—starting with those who had participated last time—and mentioned that the opponents were Yuji-kun’s group, almost everyone agreed immediately, unless they had an absolutely unavoidable conflict. If anything, word spread, and I was flooded with volunteers asking to be included. I ended up with nearly double the number of personnel we originally planned for.
When I reported this to Genya-san and Morito-san, they both looked surprised for a moment before wearing suggestive grins that sent a chill down my spine. I really want to believe that the whispered words "change of plans" were just my imagination.
"Yuji-kun, Hiiragi-san, Kokonoe-kun... I’m sure this training is going to be a nightmare, but hang in there."
Glancing at the "Top Two" and their obvious scheming, I left the office while offering a small, silent prayer for the three students.