A general sense of excitement permeated the air with the school festival arriving this weekend, but we managed to make it through the day without incident. Once school let out, we stayed to help with our respective class preparations before slipping away at the right moment, using our club’s presentation as an excuse. Given the nature of our exhibit, there wasn't much to prepare, so making our exit was easy. Our class was already about eighty percent finished with their setup anyway, so our departure shouldn't have caused any issues. The only thing left to do was the heavy lifting—bringing in the food and drinks on the day before and the morning of the event.
We navigated the hallways and classrooms buzzing with festive energy and made our way to the club room.
"It feels like every class is in the final stretch," Yuji remarked as we entered.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Whatever the attraction is, you have to put in a certain amount of effort, or you'll stick out for the wrong reasons. You have to show your motivation in a visible way."
"True. There’s a bit of a gap in enthusiasm between the first-years and the other grades, but for a school festival, I'd say the level of excitement is about average," Hiiragi-san added.
We sat down in the chairs provided in the room and discussed the atmosphere of the school as it geared up for the festival. While we were doing our part, we weren't exactly what you'd call active participants; however, we were preparing a decent enough presentation, so while we found it a bit of a chore, we were also looking forward to it. The first-years were participating quite aggressively, so it felt like the second and third-years—who didn't seem to have much motivation—were being swept up in their wake.
In fact, even though a fair amount of time had passed since school ended, there was still no sign of Mika and the others coming to check on the club room. Since they had been talking enthusiastically about their class’s attraction this morning, they were likely just absorbed in their preparations over there. I had told them we should gather after school, but the purpose was just to check on the progress of the club’s presentation. If they were busy with their class duties, there was no need to force a meeting. As long as we stayed in contact regarding the progress, it was fine.
"That's probably it," Yuji said. "Mika's class seems really fired up. They were all having a great time during their meeting this morning, going back and forth on every little detail."
"That does sound like fun. Come to think of it, we were kind of like that last year too..."
"It was our first high school festival, after all," Hiiragi-san noted. "The dungeons had appeared by then, but we didn't have a direct connection to them yet, so I remember everyone being really pumped up."
Back then, as Hiiragi-san said, it was before civilian explorers had really emerged, so for students, dungeon-related matters were things that happened in far-off places. A local event was far more relevant than something happening in the distance. Well, at the same time, everyone was excited about the rumors of the general opening of the dungeons, so the synergy actually made things even more exciting than they were now.
"I think we made a haunted house last year, didn't we? We totally transformed the classroom," I recalled.
"We did ghost makeup and made props for the atmosphere," Yuji said. "There were surprisingly many dexterous people in our class, so I think it turned out quite well."
"That was a lot of work to prepare," Hiiragi-san said. "We wanted a decent amount of space, so we rented a special classroom and prepared a lot of stage curtains to block out the light."
As we reminisced about last year’s festival, a slightly lonely expression crossed our faces at the contrast with this year. When everyone else is getting hyped up, it feels a bit lonely when you can’t quite get into the same rhythm.
That said, since the excitement was lower overall this year, it wasn't actually that bad.
"Perhaps it’s a reaction to that burnout, but this year feels more like everyone is just going through the motions because it's a school event," I commented.
"There are other things catching people’s interest now, but last year we were really fired up... maybe too much so. The preparation was one thing, but the cleanup was an absolute ordeal."
"I heard somewhere that there was twenty to thirty percent more trash than usual last year," Hiiragi-san added. "Everyone was so particular about the interior that they produced a mountain of cardboard backdrops."
Backdrops, huh... Come to think of it, our class made a considerable number of them as scenery. If every other class was doing the same, it was no wonder the trash increased.
As the three of us chatted and compared this year to last while waiting for the others, I sensed four people heading toward the club room about fifteen minutes after we had arrived.
"Is that Mika and the girls?"
"Probably. They seem to be heading straight here."
While we were making light conversation, the door to the club room opened, and the identity of the presences was revealed. It was exactly as we expected.
When Mika and the others entered and saw us, they gave a slight bow and apologized.
"Sorry we're late! Our class preparations ran over," Mika said.
" " "We're sorry!" " "
"We didn't set a specific time, so don't worry about it," I replied. "More importantly, is it okay for you to slip away from your class? If things are busy over there, you can prioritize those preparations, you know."
I gave a light response while checking if their departure was alright. If you slip away at a bad time when people are busy, you might end up buying some weird resentment. Since they had mentioned that school was finally becoming fun again after the problems were solved, I didn't want them to shoulder any new issues because of a forced exit.
"Oh, Onii-chan, it's fine. We reached a good stopping point before we left."
"If that's the case, then it's fine. But if it looks impossible later, just let me know and you can skip, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. But the kids in my class know we have a presentation for our club too, and they wouldn't tell us we can't attend our own club meeting."
"I hope so. Anyway, don't just stand there, take a seat. Let's get this meeting started so we can wrap it up quickly."
At my prompting, Mika and her friends quickly sat in the available chairs.
Well, then. Now that everyone was here, it was time to start the meeting. If we finished early, they might want to head back to their classes.
"Alright, let's have everyone report on the progress of their respective themes. I'll start with my section on the tax system involving explorers..."
I reported on the materials I had compiled. That said, it was mostly just extracting items related to explorers from the basic tax system, so it wasn't particularly labor-intensive.
I didn't include special cases like how the income related to the magic bags we obtained in the recent incident was tax-exempt, though.
"So, I plan to list several important items as a table of contents on a poster. Does anyone have any suggestions on the display method?"
"I think that's fine for the most part," Yuji said. "Also, how about preparing copies that people can take home? Those who know, know, but I think some people will want to take it home and read it thoroughly."
"I see. In that case, I'll make about fifty copies of the summary for people to take. If we run out, we can just print more."
Taking Yuji’s advice, I nodded and made a note in my memo pad. It had been nearly a year since the general opening of the dungeons. Last year, the period until the end of the year was short, so many student explorers likely kept their dungeon income within the dependency limit. However, this year, there was a high possibility that many student explorers would exceed that limit. There was a strong chance that students would see our club’s presentation, realize their income was in a dangerous spot, and start taking notes or asking us questions. To avoid such trouble, it would be safer to have materials ready for them to take home.
Actually, the parents of student explorers might be more likely to take them than the students themselves. If a child’s income exceeds the dependency limit, they are no longer eligible for the dependency deduction, and the parent has to file paperwork with their employer.
"That's all for my report. Next is... Yuji?"
"Yeah, let me start. Regarding our theme on the social impact of dungeons..."
The presentation Yuji had compiled focused primarily on Core Crystal power generation and the dungeon economy. Because of the theme, the content was quite formal, but it was a well-organized look at how society had changed since the appearance of dungeons. While the impact was currently just a transient boom, one could see the movement of how social structures were gradually shifting to a form that assumed the existence of dungeons.
Looking at this presentation made me think that it might be better to stay involved with dungeons in some form for the sake of the future.
"That's how I plan to present it. Any thoughts?"
"Less a critique and more of an observation, but... is it a bit too stiff?" I asked. "I'm not saying you should make the content 'soft,' but how about inserting some illustrations to give the reader a break? Most commercial explanatory books use character illustrations or gags to break up rows of text."
"That's true, that's an option. It did feel a bit rigid as it is, so I'll try to think of a layout with illustrations. However, we don't have much time, so if I can't adjust it well, it'll have to stay as it is."
"Isn't that fine? The quality of the content itself is high. Just think of it as an experiment," I said.
For something researched in such a short time, the content itself was honestly very well-done. Only, it was so packed with rows of text that you'd wonder if it was a thesis for some academic conference.
It would be a great read for guests with an interest, but for a guest who just happened to wander in, it was the kind of thing that would make them lose interest immediately. Since we had gone to the trouble of making it, I wanted the visitors to actually digest the content.
"Got it. I'll try to revise it by the next report. With that in mind, Tatebayashi-san, Hino-san—I know you're busy with class preparations, but could you help with the revisions?"
"Yes, of course," Tatebayashi-san replied.
"Oh, I can draw simple illustrations, so I'll handle that!" Hino-san offered enthusiastically.
"Oh, that's encouraging. Then let's leave the illustrations to Hino-san."
"Yes!"
Good. Since the revision plan for Yuji's side was decided, we moved to the next part.
I shifted my gaze from Yuji and the others to Hiiragi-san and the girls.
"Then next is our presentation. Regarding our theme, the utilization of materials harvested from dungeons..."
Hiiragi-san’s presentation was a broad summary of how dungeon materials are used, including food applications, industrial applications, and so on. Unlike Yuji’s presentation, it was a 'wide but shallow' approach. It listed many things being made in various fields, and it even nonchalantly included Hiiragi-san’s family ramen shop as an example of food utilization.
Talk about a strong business spirit...
"That's how we've summarized it. Any opinions?"
"Let's see. I think it's well-organized, but if possible, shouldn't we display some actual items alongside it?" I suggested. "If you show the real things, it's easier to visualize how dungeon materials are actually used."
"You're right. Displaying some of the products we introduced as actual samples might be a good way to draw the guests' interest."
"Furthermore, wouldn't it be good to display the raw materials before processing too? Like, 'this was processed to become this'..." Mika added.
Displaying high-value materials or products would probably be bad from a security standpoint, though. If a commotion started because an exhibit was stolen and the police had to come during the school festival, it would be a total mood killer. Precisely because we could prepare such things if we wanted to, we had to be careful.
Come to think of it, those bear materials we didn't use for the sports festival... were those considered high-value materials in general? Yeah, let's not reuse those mothballed items.
"That's true. We should be able to prepare materials for some of the products, so let's line them up. Mika-chan, Saori-chan, is that alright?"
"Of course! I definitely think the guests will be more interested that way," Mika-chan replied.
"I agree too!" Saori-chan added.
"Then let's start picking out the products right away. There isn't much time until the festival, so we have to hurry."
Once the plan was settled, Hiiragi-san and the girls happily spread out their materials and smartphones and began selecting the products to use for the exhibits. Judging that their part was settled, Yuji and the others also immediately began creating the illustrations for the revisions.
"Um, so for now, can we say the meeting is over?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Yes."
"Yup!"
" " "Yes!" " "
And so, the meeting concluded successfully. However, Yuji and the others immediately set to work on the improvements we had discussed. Left behind as everyone paired off into tasks, I let out a lonely sigh.
Hah, I guess I'll go make those copies of my materials.
Being the only one alone while everyone else is chatting and working together is a bit lonely, isn't it?