The sun climbed high into a sky so clear it was almost obnoxious, its brilliant radiance shining down and scorching our skin without mercy as we waited near the station ticket machines. Honestly, a cloudy sky would have been just fine, but unfortunately, we were blessed with perfect, clear weather.
Yeah, a midsummer day this clear was brutal.
"Maybe I came a little too early..."
"Yeah. Since we left the house early, we might have to wait a bit longer..."
Dressed in my civilian clothes—a white tee under a khaki-brown open-collar shirt, navy tapered pants, and a shoulder bag—I grumbled to Mika. She was wearing a striped t-shirt, white shorts, and her own shoulder bag.
Still, I suppose it was better than being late.
"Maybe I should move to that convenience store over there..."
"If you do that, the others won't be able to find us..."
As much as we wanted to head inside the station building in search of shade, we were the ones who had set the meeting point, so we had to stay somewhere visible. That meant we couldn't completely escape the sun. Honestly, I wished that glass building across from the station would do something about the glare.
I shielded my eyes with my hand to block the reflection, muttering to myself as I gazed longingly at the convenience store on the opposite side of the street. I could endure the heat well enough, but the glare stabbing at my eyes was annoying. Maybe I should buy some sunglasses next time...?
"By the way, Mika, have you heard anything from the others?"
"Hmm, nothing yet. I sent a message yesterday to confirm the time, so I don't think they'll get it wrong."
"I see... Then I guess we'll just wait here until the time comes."
If I’d heard from anyone, I would have told them I’d already arrived and retreated into the station, but since no one had checked in, I had no choice but to stay put. If I sent a follow-up message now, it would come across as me telling them to hurry up.
I felt a bit hesitant to do that. After enduring the sunlight for a while longer, Saori-chan showed up ten minutes before the scheduled time.
"Good morning, Mika-chan. Good morning to you too, Onii-san."
"Good morning, Saori-chan. It's been a while since we've seen each other like this."
"Yeah."
"Morning, Saori-chan. Were you able to relax during the Obon holidays?"
"Yes!"
Mika and Saori-chan, seeing each other for the first time in a while, happily started chatting about their break.
For the record, Saori-chan, who had greeted us so energetically, was dressed in a white blouse, high-waist denim, and a shoulder bag.
About five minutes after Saori-chan joined us, the remaining members, Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san, arrived together. It seemed they had bumped into each other on the way.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"I'm sorry, we're late!"
Since they were the last to arrive, Asami-chan and Suzune-chan ran up to us with apologetic expressions.
"No, no, it's not even the meeting time yet, so don't worry about it. More importantly, good morning, Tatebayashi-san, Hino-san."
"Eh, ah, good morning."
"G-Good morning."
They both replied, looking slightly taken aback by my casual reaction.
Asami-chan was wearing a brown top with a white long cardigan, a linen skirt, and a tote bag. Suzune-chan was wearing a tunic with a white knit skirt, a thin belt, and a tote bag.
"Ah, Asami-chan, Suzune-chan! It's been a while! Good morning!"
"Good morning, Asami-chan, Suzune-chan."
"Eh, oh, good morning, Mika-chan, Saori-chan."
"G-Good morning, Mika-chan, Saori-chan."
Mika and Saori-chan, who had been engrossed in their own world, noticed the newcomers and called out happily. Asami-chan and Suzune-chan gave me a small nod of acknowledgement and then immediately joined the girls' conversation.
...Yeah, they say where three women gather, there’s a crowd, but four was an absolute cacophony. Since I was the only guy, I felt incredibly out of place. I waited a while for the chatter to die down, then clapped my hands when the timing seemed right.
"Alright, that's enough talking for now. If we don't start moving soon, we won't make it by the start time."
I didn't actually care if we made it exactly for the opening, but if I left them alone, who knew when they'd stop. The start time was merely a convenient excuse to interrupt them.
It was highly effective. Mika and the others looked at the station clock, realized how long they had left me standing there while they talked, and stopped their chatter with sheepish expressions.
"S-Sorry!"
"No, it's fine. Anyway, instead of standing around talking here, shall we get going?"
"Y-Yeah!"
And so, we passed through the ticket gates and headed up to the platform.
Good grief, being a chaperone is hard work.
After taking the train to the next city, we transferred to a local bus. It wasn't impossible to walk to the venue, but fortunately, there was a bus from the station plaza that went straight to the event hall, so we decided to take that.
Walking under the midsummer sun was a bit much. If there was a way to get close to the destination, there was no reason not to use it. Or rather...
"It's so hot..."
"My skin is going to burn..."
Mika, Saori-chan, and I were somewhat better off due to the explorer correction, but making non-explorers like Asami-chan and Suzune-chan walk under the scorching sun would be cruel.
At worst, they could suffer from heatstroke on the way.
"Are you two okay? If it's too much, we can take a little break..."
"Ah, no, I'm fine."
"I'm fine too."
They said they were fine, but I wished they would just be honest if they weren't. Because of the explorer correction, our perception of changes in the thermal environment has become duller than that of ordinary people. The range of temperatures we can endure without problem has widened, which means that even if the temperature fluctuates quite a bit, it’s harder for us to feel a sense of crisis regarding things like dehydration. Even if we think it's fine, there's a high possibility that the temperature has reached a level dangerous for ordinary people.
Especially now, with a ratio of three explorers to two non-explorers. It might be hard for them to speak up, but if the minority doesn't voice their needs, there’s a high chance we won't notice until it's too late.
"...I see, I understand. But please, make sure to speak up when things aren't okay, alright?"
"Yes. Thank you for your concern."
"Thank you very much."
"Yeah."
Asami-chan and Suzune-chan looked like they were taking my words to heart, but I knew I would have to keep a close eye on their condition myself.
Also...
"Mika, Saori-chan, a moment."
"Hmm? What is it, Onii-chan?"
"What is it?"
I called Mika and Saori-chan over and whispered my request.
"Sorry, but please keep an eye on Asami-chan and Suzune-chan. It looks like the temperature is going to rise quite a bit today. Even if we're fine because of the explorer correction, it might be tough for them. If we keep dragging them around just because we're okay, they could end up getting heatstroke."
"Oh, yeah. Got it, I'll be careful."
"Understood."
"I'm counting on you."
When I relayed my concerns, Mika and Saori-chan looked startled for a moment and then readily agreed. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if those two collapsed from heatstroke at an event we invited them to.
After waiting at the plaza for the bus to arrive, we finally boarded.
About fifteen minutes later, we arrived at our destination and stepped off the bus. Since it was the stop right in front of the venue, the exhibition hall where the event was held towered right before our eyes.
Renting out this whole place for an event... they're certainly putting a lot of effort into this.
"Well, we've arrived at our destination... so, what now?"
"?"
"...Onii-chan, what do you mean by 'what now'?"
"I mean, should we head inside and look around right away, or should we look around the outside first?"
At this event, there were two types of food stall areas. One inside the venue featured stalls using dungeon food, and one outside featured stalls that didn't. The price ranges were so different that it made sense to separate them into two locations.
And the reason I was asking this was...
"Such a good smell is drifting over..."
"I think I might be getting hungry..."
"Yakisoba, takoyaki, shaved ice..."
Because there were four people with expressions that looked like they were about to drool, directed at the stalls where delicious aromas were wafting.
It certainly did smell delicious, but those expressions were a bit unbecoming for young ladies, wouldn't you say?
"...Should we start with the outside area?"
"...Yeah, that's right. It might be better to look around outside for a bit first."
"Then let's do that..."
And so, we decided to circle the outside of the venue once before going inside.
In other words, a tour of the food stalls. Yeah.
"Heh, there are all sorts of stalls out here."
"There's food, but there are also lots of different goods for sale."
"Retort pouch foods and canned goods... there are so many things I've never seen before."
"Is that a tent? Is there a camping goods corner too?"
"Whoa, this sleeping bag is really expensive... Eh? It uses high-quality down? For a sleeping bag?"
As we looked around the stalls outside while doing some window shopping, we found some rather interesting things. The goods were basically items for the general public, and there weren't any items that felt like they were specifically derived from dungeons. I suppose those kinds of items were being sold inside the venue.
That said, just looking around was fun. Especially...
"This is delicious."
"Yeah. But they're a bit big and hard to eat?"
"I thought it might be a weird flavor, but salt and lemon... yeah, it's refreshing and delicious."
"Yeah. But for me, it has to be sauce."
Eating while walking after buying takoyaki. We talked about buying yakisoba too, but we decided against it and just bought one pack of takoyaki for everyone to share. Since the pack had eight pieces, the four girls took two each, leaving me out. Well, it was fine since I wasn't particularly hungry... but I did feel a slight sense of alienation.
While I was walking around thinking that, a man walking from the direction we were heading called out to me.
"Yo, Kokonoe! What a coincidence to see you in a place like this!"
"Hmm? Ah, Shigemori. You came."
"Yeah. Since you recommended it, I came to check it out out of curiosity."
"I see."
The person who called out to me was my classmate, Shigemori. I had told him about this event when we met the other day, so it seemed he had actually shown up.
As I was being surprised by the encounter, Mika and the others called out to me from a short distance away.
"Onii-chan, who is that person?"
"Hmm? Oh, this is my classmate, Shigemori. I told him about this event the other day, and he seems to have come to check it out out of interest."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Shigemori, Kokonoe's classmate. Regards."
"Eh, ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you."
Mika and the others returned the greeting with slightly nervous expressions, giving Shigemori a small bow. Well, it's natural to be nervous if your brother's classmate suddenly appears.
As I was thinking that, Shigemori, with a suspicious look in his eyes, suddenly grabbed my arm, leaned in close, and whispered an accusation at me.
"Hey, hey, Kokonoe! What kind of situation is this?! Why are you at an event with four girls?!"
"Hmm? Oh, don't get the wrong idea. One is my sister, one is her childhood friend, and the other two are juniors from the club. They said they were interested in explorers, so I came along to chaperone them."
"...Is that true?"
"Why would I lie about something like this? Don't go imagining things..."
I let out a small sigh at Shigemori, who still directed a doubtful gaze at me even after I explained. I pulled my arm away from his grip and put some distance between us.
It's not hot, but you're being stifling.
"So, Shigemori. What are you doing after this?"
"Hmm? After this? For now, I'm planning to go inside after doing a lap around the outside."
"I see... want to look around together?"
In practice, being in a group with a four-to-one female-to-male ratio was quite taxing, so I tried inviting Shigemori to join us to balance things out.
Then, Shigemori looked around at our faces briefly and...
"Sorry, I want to take my time looking around, so I think I'll go solo," he said firmly with a bright smile.
Furthermore, Shigemori leaned in and whispered to me.
"Since they seem to get nervous when I'm around, make sure you escort them properly."
"...Shigemori."
"Besides, it's a four-to-one situation. Enjoy it."
"...You're saying that knowing exactly how I feel, aren't you?"
Just as I was starting to be impressed by how considerate he was, he had to go and say that. Are you abandoning me even though you know how I feel?! I almost shouted, but before I could raise my voice, Shigemori quickly gave a parting greeting to Mika and the others and then walked away, giving a casual wave over his shoulder.
That guy... if I find him inside the venue later, I'm definitely not letting him escape.