The merciless sun beat down on us, and I was already fed up with the feeling of it burning my exposed skin. Suzune and I hurried toward the station. We still had plenty of time before our meeting, but I wanted to arrive early enough to cool down before everyone else showed up.
I wasn't exactly dripping with sweat just yet, but since Mika-chan’s brother was going to be there, I couldn't help but feel self-conscious about my appearance.
"Still, it’s so hot today, Asami-chan..."
"It really is. But it’s summer, so I guess there’s no helping it."
"Ugh, I just want to find somewhere with the AC blasting..."
"Maybe once we get to the station..."
As I listened to Suzune's complaining, I recalled the layout of the station building and shook my head. That station didn't have any air conditioning. We might be able to escape the direct sunlight, but we wouldn't feel real relief until we actually got on the train.
"The station’s no good. There should be a convenience store nearby, though. If the others aren't there yet, let's kill time and cool off in there."
"Good idea! I'm in! Come on, Asami-chan, let's hurry!"
"Ah, wait, Suzune! Slow down!"
I had to grab Suzune to keep her from sprinting the moment she heard the word 'cool.' I started walking faster myself, though. Running in this heat would only make us sweat more.
By the time we reached the station, arriving slightly ahead of schedule, we spotted a group of three—two girls and a man—already waiting in the shade of the building.
"...Sorry, Suzune. Looks like we’re the last ones here after all."
"Aw, and we even got here early..."
"No use crying about it. We’ve kept them waiting, so let's go join them."
"Okaay."
Pushing aside our disappointment over missing out on the convenience store's AC, Suzune and I put on our best apologetic faces and approached Mika-chan and the others.
"Sorry to keep you waiting!"
"We're so sorry we're late!"
"No, no, it's still before the meeting time, so don't worry about it. Good morning, Tatebayashi-san, Hino-san."
"Oh, ah, good morning."
"G-Good morning."
The first to notice us was Senpai—Mika-chan’s brother. He greeted us with a gentle expression, telling us not to worry. Looking at him like this, he really just seemed like a kind older brother. However, that scene from the sports festival remained a vivid and shocking memory in my mind.
After exchanging a few words with him, Suzune and I turned to Mika-chan and Saori-chan, happy to see them again.
"Ah, Asami-chan, Suzune-chan! It's been a while! Good morning!"
"Morning, Asami-chan, Suzune-chan."
"Morning, Mika-chan, Saori-chan."
"G-Good morning, Mika-chan, Saori-chan."
Seeing them safe and sound brought a secret wave of relief. Even though we’d been in touch, actually seeing them in person was different. I was truly glad they were okay. Over the last month, Mika-chan and the others had done nothing but dive into dungeons, so it had been a very long time since we’d seen each other face-to-face.
We spent a while catching up, but eventually, Senpai cut us off with a slightly wry look. It seemed more time had passed than we realized. We ended up boarding a train one later than we had originally planned.
After getting off at our destination, we caught a bus from the rotary that took us to the stop nearest the event venue. Since so many people were heading to the same event, the bus was fairly crowded. That probably explained why the air conditioning inside felt so weak.
Once we finally reached the venue...
"Well then, shall we take a quick look around the outside before heading into the hall?"
We all nodded in agreement with Senpai's suggestion. Honestly, the smell of grilled takoyaki and yakisoba wafting toward us from the front of the venue was incredibly hard to ignore. Regardless of whether we actually bought anything, we wanted to see what was there. So, despite the brilliant midsummer sun beating down, we browsed the sales booths set up outside. We shared some takoyaki we bought along the way, and it was actually quite delicious.
While we were circling the perimeter, a man I didn't recognize suddenly called out to Senpai. After a brief introduction, it turned out he was Senpai's classmate, and Senpai had been the one to tell him about the event.
"Hey, Mika-chan. Who is that?"
"I'm not sure. I just met him for the first time, too."
"Really? He seems pretty friendly with your brother..."
Since Mika-chan didn't know him, he probably hadn't been to the club room like Hirose-senpai or Hiiragi-senpai. He was likely just a close classmate.
After Senpai and Shigemori-senpai joked around for a bit, Senpai invited him to join us, but Shigemori-senpai declined, saying he wanted to explore on his own. I hate to admit it, but I was relieved. It’s always nerve-wracking to suddenly be paired up with a stranger, especially a guy.
"Sorry about that, everyone. That was sudden."
"No, please don't worry about it. At a big event like this, you're bound to run into an acquaintance or two."
Senpai gave us a bashful, slightly awkward apology, and then we resumed our tour of the outer booths, eventually making it back to the main entrance. It had only been about thirty minutes, but walking under the scorching sun had us drenched in sweat. I couldn't wait to get inside.
"Alright, I got the entry tickets. Everyone, take one."
"Thanks, Onii-chan."
"Thank you very much!"
With the tickets in hand, we finally entered the venue. Ahh, it was so cool! I never wanted to leave. Suzune and I immediately sank into a nearby sofa, savoring the blessings of modern technology as our body temperatures finally began to drop.
Once we had cooled off, our excitement returned. We headed toward the main hall, separated by thick doors, but we were stunned the moment we stepped inside. The air was thick with a different kind of heat—the sheer passion of the crowd. Rows of booths for dungeon exploration companies stretched out from the entrance, and further back, we could see more sales booths, food stalls, and an event stage. We had come here on a whim after hearing about it from Mika-chan, but seeing the scale of it made me realize I should take this seriously.
We started with a quick lap around the hall, beginning with the corporate booths. It’s always easier to manage your time once you have a layout of the place.
"There are so many students like us here."
"I wonder if they're all planning to become explorers after they graduate?"
"Who knows? But if they're thinking about their future career paths, this is a great chance to see what kind of companies are out there."
"True. Even the big companies you see in TV commercials have booths here."
Following Senpai’s lead, we browsed the corporate area. At every booth, students just a little older than us were listening intently to the guides. We eavesdropped on their conversations and scanned the placards detailing job requirements.
Whenever we stopped to look at a recruitment poster, Senpai would chime in with some very practical advice. His explanations were incredibly enlightening—especially the part about how if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The stories about the predatory management companies that had almost ensnared his relatives were genuinely terrifying.
The sales booths inside were similar to the ones outside, but many of the items were professional-grade with prices to match. Mika-chan and the others mentioned that they’d used money from part-time jobs to buy their initial equipment, and even then, they could only afford second-hand gear from auctions. Looking at the prices here, even used gear would cost a fortune. If Suzune and I wanted to become explorers, I wasn't sure we’d even have enough to buy a used set.
"Hearing all this, the qualification itself doesn't seem hard to get, but the preparation for dungeon exploration is another story. Especially the cost..."
"Yeah. If you don't save up beforehand like Mika-chan and the others, you wouldn't even be able to get your gear together..."
Suzune and I followed the other three through the rows of equipment, sighing at the sheer scale of the initial investment. We heard that you could use weapons from a home center instead of the high-end stuff here, but there were so many other necessities that the total would still hit nearly 100,000 yen. They say a successful explorer makes a lot of money, but it clearly costs a lot to stay in the game.
The secret ambition I’d been harboring—to become an explorer and join Mika-chan in the dungeons—felt like it was starting to crumble.
Eventually, we followed the mouth-watering aromas to the food stall area. Everywhere we looked, people were smiling and praising the food. However, I also noticed a fair number of people eating with expressions of utter despair, tears streaming down their faces as they shoveled food into their mouths. Was this food stall area some kind of delicious trap you could never escape?
So good!
As soon as we bit into our first purchase—orc meat frankfurters—we all let out an involuntary cry of delight. I’d had dungeon food a few times before, but this was on another level. The meat was incredible, and the scent of the fat smoked over charcoal was intoxicating. It was pricier than normal food, but if the first stall was this good, I had high expectations for the rest.
From there, it was a blur. We hurried through the stalls, buying everything that looked even remotely tasty.
"...Didn't you guys buy a little too much?"
"That's not true!...is what I want to say, but yeah, we might have gone overboard."
"There were just so many delicious things, I couldn't help it..."
"Yes, everything looked so appetizing..."
"Maybe too much..."
Staring at the table piled high with steaming, fragrant food, our excitement was replaced by a slight sense of regret. We had been driven by pure greed. Could we even finish all this? How much had we actually spent? But there was no turning back now. The only polite thing to do was to eat every bite. I’d worry about the consequences later.
In the end, we finished every last bit, wearing massive grins.
"Thank you for the meal."
"Phew, that was amazing."
"I'm so full..."
"Everything was delicious."
"So good..."
I was completely satisfied. Every dish had been spectacular, and it was impossible to pick a favorite. Honestly, just being able to eat that food made the whole trip worth it. When Senpai mentioned looking at the event booths before the stage show, I realized I’d completely forgotten why we were here.
On the stage, a slender, small-framed man named Hashiba was lifting a massive motorcycle that supposedly weighed four hundred kilograms. He was showing off his strength as part of his company's appeal. I thought I had grown used to this kind of thing after the sports festival, but seeing an explorer’s power demonstrated like this still made my eyes go wide.
I stole a glance at Senpai. He didn't look surprised at all; if anything, he looked bored. That meant Senpai and the others could probably do the exact same thing.
"That was incredible, Asami-chan! I can't believe he could lift something that heavy!"
"Y-Yeah..."
Suzune was practically vibrating with excitement, her eyes sparkling, but I couldn't quite share her enthusiasm. Ever since the sports festival, I’d suspected that Senpai and his group were a cut above the other explorers at school, but his bored expression made me realize that what we just saw was likely just a fraction of what he was truly capable of.
I tried to imagine myself as an explorer. In my mind's eye, I was effortlessly tossing a car into the air....Yeah, visually speaking, I think that would be a bit over the top for me.
"Ah, it's over."
"Looks like it."
Suzune sounded disappointed as the stage was cleared after the corporate demonstrations finished. It had been impressive, but ever since I’d seen Senpai's reaction, I’d been watching with a sense of detachment.
We headed back to the dining area to rest. Over tea, Senpai, Mika-chan, and Saori-chan started sharing their experiences. They told us that since we’d seen the glamorous side of being an explorer, we needed to hear the dark side too. Even with the more graphic details omitted, the stories were grim. They spoke of explorers being attacked inside dungeons, the fate of the victims, those who couldn't even manage to defeat a goblin, groups running out of supplies, and the tragedy of someone being dragged into a dungeon against their will due to poor communication. They were the kind of stories that made you want to look away, but they were also the realities we would face if we chose that life.
After that, we spent more time at the corporate booths, but this time we focused on learning what the companies actually did day-to-day.
"I hope you’ll take everything you saw and learned today, along with the stories I told you, and think long and hard before you decide whether or not to become an explorer."
Senpai murmured those words to Suzune and me as we were leaving. He wanted us to make an informed decision, knowing both the risks and the rewards.
If I were judging solely on the flashy demonstrations and the incredible food, I’d say becoming an explorer was a great idea. But after hearing those stories, I wasn't so sure anymore. I’d come to this event hoping to find an answer, but now I felt more conflicted than ever.