Although it took a little while, we finished submitting our surveys during homeroom, and the first day of our eventful second semester made it to the end of the day—more or less. The fallout from the mass withdrawal of ten students was massive; whenever a teacher wasn't in the room, the classroom buzzed with nothing else. The rumor-mongers were busy hunting for the "culprits" across the different classes, trying to figure out exactly who had disappeared.
As a result, by the time school let out, we had a general idea of who had dropped out.
"I see. So it really was the people from Goto-kun’s group who quit..."
"Yeah, looks like it. If the rumors are true, Goto-kun and his original members have vanished in one fell swoop."
"Goto-kun and his crew, huh... Those guys were pretty pushy about recruiting. I wonder if something happened because of that?"
"Maybe. There were quite a few people who hated the way they did things, after all."
The four of us left the classroom—which was still noisy with talk of the mass withdrawal—and discussed the matter as we headed toward the club room. According to the stories we had gathered, the group that dropped out was indeed the Goto group. Word was that their behavior had been a bit strange since the end of the first semester, right around the time the sports festival finished. They had stopped their active recruitment and had seemingly lost their appetite for intimidating or lorded it over other explorer groups.
...Wait, was the sports festival one of the reasons for the mass withdrawal?
"But what are Goto-kun and the others going to do now that they’ve quit school? Only some of the members from the group left, right? It’ll be hard for them to... you know, explore dungeons the same way they did before, won't it?"
"You're right. I'm sure they weren't all exploring at the exact same time, but they'll have to change their party composition with the members who quit. They won't be able to move like they used to without practicing their coordination again. If that happens, their income from drop items will temporarily decrease, so..."
Saori-chan and I grew anxious about whether Goto-kun and his crew could actually survive as full-time explorers. As people who explored dungeons ourselves, we knew how vital teamwork was when fighting monsters. If your cohesion was good, one plus one could become two or even three. But if your coordination failed, a team that should have been a five could drop to a one or a two. In the worst-case scenario, it could go into the negatives—internal discord leading to a total party wipe was a very real possibility in a dungeon.
Furthermore, the financial strain of a temporary drop in income was more than enough to trigger infighting in a group that likely already had plenty of problems.
"...I just thought of something. Not everyone who quit this time necessarily left school on good terms, right?"
"Probably not. If a kid told their parents they were quitting school to become a full-time explorer, most parents would try to stop them."
"If ten people quit despite that... there are probably some who had a total falling-out and were basically disowned, right?"
"I'm sure that's the case for some of them."
If there was a disparity in their living situations the moment they quit school, it would only breed more potential for resentment. If someone dropped out amicably, they might have parental support, but if they quit after a huge fight and a clean break, they couldn't expect any help. If a group contained some people whose lives were secure and who could spend all their dungeon rewards however they liked, and others who were struggling just to scrape together living expenses, the group would likely collapse. If they tried to keep up the same vibe they had back in school, the group would probably shatter under the pressure.
Yeah. I didn't know the specifics of the Goto group’s internal affairs, but there didn't seem to be many signs that things would go well. Why did they decide to quit school and focus solely on being explorers?
"But look at the bright side. Now that Goto-kun and his crew have quit school, it means we won't be persistently scouted anymore, right? They mostly stopped after the sports festival, but they still gave us weird looks when we passed in the hallway or during joint classes. Just knowing that's over makes me feel better."
"That’s true, that really helps. We've been getting some strange looks ever since that thing with the seniors at the sports festival... So, in the end, I guess it's not a bad thing for us? I feel a little bad saying it, though..."
"You don't need to worry about it, Mika-chan, Saori-chan. No matter what we say, it was ultimately their choice," Suzune-chan said, grounding us.
"She's right, you two. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about. Though, people might bring up the sports festival again and make a bit of a fuss..."
Hearing Suzune-chan's words, Saori-chan and I let out small sighs. To think people might make a scene over that again... Since it could indeed be one of the factors behind this mass withdrawal, it was highly likely to be dredged up. Sigh, I really don't want to deal with that.
While walking and talking, we arrived at the club room before we knew it.
In the room, we talked with Onii-chan and the others about the upcoming big event—the school festival—and finalized our club's presentation. Our theme: the impact dungeons have had on society and the taxes that explorers, as business operators, should pay. Although that was the stated purpose of the club's founding, wasn't the tax topic Onii-chan and the others proposed a bit too stiff for a school festival? I wondered if any guests would actually come to see it.
However, a single comment from Hashimoto-sensei made me realize I didn't have time to worry about that.
"The Confirmation Test... Oh yeah, we had one of those, didn't we?"
"It's not 'oh yeah,' is it? Have you been studying at all?"
"..."
"Sigh, I see."
When I looked away with a dry laugh, Onii-chan gave me a flat look. I mean, come on, right? I finished my assignments in the first half of the break, and summer vacation is meant to be enjoyed to the fullest, isn't it?
Besides, you haven't really been studying much either, have you, Onii-chan?
"......"
And so, we ended up holding an emergency study session at Hirose-senpai's house to prepare for tomorrow's test.
The material for the Confirmation Test was stuff we had already done once for our summer assignments, so I figured as long as we could remember it, we wouldn't do too poorly... as long as we could remember it, that is.
Perhaps the results of yesterday's study session paid off, because I managed to survive the Confirmation Test. Based on how it felt, I think I scored around 70 or 80 percent.
However...
"Wow, it looks like a battlefield in here."
"You're right... Did everyone just not study at all?"
"I heard that in our class, several people became explorers during summer break and were diving into dungeons."
"And they said they forgot to do their assignments because of it."
After finishing the test, it felt like less than half the students in the room—boys and girls combined—had any energy left. Fortunately, thanks to yesterday's study session, we were among the minority who were still standing.
On top of that, we had to submit our assignments after this, so I doubted the people who had been wiped out would be recovering anytime today.
"Oh, by the way, Mika-chan, did you hear? That rumor."
"Hmm? What rumor?"
"A rumor that doesn't leave a very good taste in your mouth. You know how we talked yesterday about Goto-kun and the others quitting? Apparently, the fallout is already starting to show."
"Fallout...?"
Asami-chan, frowning with a look of distaste, told us the rumor she had heard.
Supposedly, during lunch break, there was a fight—or rather, a heated argument—in the class where Goto-kun had been enrolled. The argument was between a few boys who had stayed behind from the Goto group and a male student who had been invited to join during the first semester but had refused.
"About that boy who kept refusing to join... apparently, they didn't take kindly to his refusal and had been harassing him in various ways."
"Harassing him...?"
"I guess you could call it bullying. It doesn't sound like they did anything violent, but they supposedly pressured everyone around them to ignore him. Because Goto-kun and his cronies—his party members—were there, the other kids in the class couldn't offer a helping hand or even speak up."
Hearing Asami-chan's story, all of our expressions twisted in disgust. It's easy to condemn people for being complicit in bullying, but I could understand why the others stayed silent. Everyone wants to protect themselves; if you think you'll become the next target if you try to stop it, you hesitate. Even the option of going to a teacher is hard when you feel the guilt of being a passive participant yourself. It was highly likely that this story only leaked out because Goto-kun and the others were gone; if they were still there, it might have stayed buried.
Furthermore, for ringleaders like Goto-kun, they were explorers whose levels were unrivaled among the first-years because they had repeated a year. With his party members backing him up, there was a clear threat of physical force. Other student explorers in the same grade could sense the gap in strength and wouldn't easily pick a fight, and without the victim's own report or testimony from whistleblowers, teachers couldn't intervene.
"But now that Goto-kun and his crew have quit school, it seems that pressure is gone. The boy apparently confronted the remaining former group members in the classroom and laid into them for everything they'd done."
"Well... I can see why he'd want to say something."
"Yeah. Of course, those former group members argued back, saying they were forced into it by the ones who dropped out, but the boy told them it didn't matter who forced them since they had still participated, and it turned into a huge shouting match. Then, other students who had been suppressed by Goto-kun and the others joined in on the boy's side..."
"Yikes..."
With the weight of the leaders gone, the public trial of the remaining members had begun. Perhaps because of all the pent-up frustration, the argument grew in intensity, creating a volatile atmosphere. Well, I guess it's a good thing it didn't come to blows.
If a brawl broke out between explorers and ordinary students, it wouldn't be surprising if someone died. We explorers have to realize that the power we possess is far beyond that of an ordinary person.
"Then, because they were making such a racket, someone called a teacher and they broke it up. Apparently, both sides were left with a lot of resentment, and the atmosphere remained cutthroat."
"So that's what's been happening..."
I suppose you could call it poetic justice—their past actions were finally catching up to them. The ringleaders of the Goto group were already gone, and the masses had risen in revolt against the remaining underlings. It was like the downfall of a dictatorial regime.
Come to think of it, Hashimoto-sensei had expressed concern yesterday about the rest of the Goto group dropping out one after another. If this kind of thing continued, it was highly possible that the remaining members, even if it was their own fault, would find the atmosphere unbearable and... leave.
"If this is happening the day after Goto-kun’s group dropped out, similar things might happen in other classes too."
"The chances are high. This rumor will probably spread everywhere by tomorrow. We had people in our class too who used to brag about being part of the Goto group."
"Now that you mention it, we do have former members left in our class. Their recruitment pitches toward us were persistent, but they weren't that arrogant, so I think they'll be okay, but..."
Honestly, the idea of something similar happening in our class and our student count decreasing further didn't feel great. More than anything, I hated the thought of a classroom where everyone was arguing every day.
I never imagined that only a day after the announcement, the impact would be this severe.
"Yeah. But..."
Asami-chan glanced toward the few boys in our class who were former members. Following her gaze, I saw that they looked dejected and pale—not because of the test results, but something else entirely.
They must have heard the rumors too.
"It looks like they feel the wind changing. They know things aren't the same anymore. Maybe, before we even do or say anything..."
"...They might just quit," I finished.
With the disappearance of the Goto group, which had dominated through the threat of force, the power map among the first-years was shifting by the minute.
It seemed my high school life wouldn't be returning to normal quite so easily.