Guided by Saori-chan, I made my way to the challenge corner set up in one part of the classroom. On the table sat several mechanical parts along with photos of the finished samples, clearly showing how they should be arranged and combined.
I stopped in front of the table beside the one where the previous challenger had just run out of time and let out a frustrated groan.
“I brought the next challenger. He’s a senior from my club.”
“Um, when you say Saori-chan’s senior…”
“That’s right. He’s one of them—Mika-chan’s big brother.”
“…I see.”
When Saori-chan spoke to the girl running the challenge corner, the girl looked slightly startled and turned to study my face. From a first-year’s perspective, we were apparently famous in more ways than one.
After staring at me for several seconds, she gave a small bow, her expression tense, and offered her thanks.
“Thank you very much, Kokonoe-senpai.”
“Huh? What’s this about? Thanking me out of nowhere…”
“Ah, no… It’s just that you seniors really helped me, so I wanted to express my gratitude.”
“?”
I tilted my head in confusion at the sudden thanks from this unfamiliar underclassman. Saori-chan, who knew the full story, tugged lightly on the hem of my uniform and gestured for me to listen. I leaned in, bringing my ear closer.
Covering her mouth with one hand, Saori-chan quietly explained why the girl had thanked me.
“So here’s the thing. Her birthday is in July.”
“July… Ah, I understand now. That explains it.”
“Yes. She was approached with that certain matter right before the sports festival and didn’t know what to do.”
“So that’s why she said thank you.”
After hearing the details from Saori-chan, I looked back at the girl. She gave a small nod, a trace of irritation flickering across her face. From that expression, it was clear she had been hit with a particularly troublesome recruitment pitch. Then we caused that incident, which brought the whole thing to a sudden halt.
Given the situation, it made sense that she would want to thank us now that we were face to face.
“I understand why you’re thanking me. But since it ended in a rather unexpected way, I feel a little awkward accepting gratitude for it…”
“Ah, yes. That’s true. Still, the fact that you saved me when I was in trouble is real, so…”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll honestly accept that part of it.”
“Yes.”
If things had wrapped up more cleanly, I could have accepted her thanks without reservation. But when the outcome involved a massive number of students dropping out, it left a bitter aftertaste. In one sense we had reached a fundamental solution, yet the result still felt unpleasant.
Just as a slightly heavy atmosphere began to settle over us, Saori-chan clapped her hands lightly to clear the air.
“Let’s stop that conversation there, you two. We should move on to explaining the game, or we’ll run out of time.”
“Ah! Y-yes, of course.”
“Oh, right. Please go ahead and explain it.”
“Yes!”
The girl lined up four photos of the completed samples on the table and began explaining each mechanism.
“This challenge corner offers several mechanisms divided by difficulty. As shown in these sample photos, there are four levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and highest difficulty. Every level has a ninety-second time limit. You may attempt it as many times as you like within the time, so please use the parts prepared for each difficulty to carry this ball to the goal before time runs out.”
She pointed at the parts, then showed me a red rubber ball and a paper cup labeled GOAL.
“If you succeed, you’ll receive a prize set for that difficulty. Even if you fail, you still get a participation prize, so please do your best.”
“Can only one person challenge it once?”
“If no one else is waiting, you may attempt it multiple times. That said, there is a reasonable limit…”
“Haha, that makes sense. I don’t want to become one of those annoying guests who gets too obsessed either.”
You see those kinds of people at these games from time to time—the ones who keep failing, get worked up, turn stubborn, and lose sight of everything around them. Even when the store clerks and other guests are watching with completely fed-up expressions, they alone remain oblivious and keep making a pathetic spectacle of themselves.
This was a precious school festival. I had no intention of becoming that kind of nuisance.
“So, which difficulty would you like to try?”
“Normally the expected choice is the highest difficulty, but… has anyone actually succeeded?”
“Haha. Quite a few guests have taken on the challenge following that expectation, but we haven’t had a single success yet. Even students from our own class tried it during testing. The ones who practiced a lot only succeeded once after several attempts.”
“So it really is that hard… Then pulling it off in a single try sounds nearly impossible.”
At a festival you’re supposed to follow these kinds of expectations, but attempting something with such a high chance of failure felt questionable. I could play it safe with the intermediate level and secure a prize, yet since it was a festival, going for the hardest one also seemed like the right spirit… I couldn’t decide.
As I stood there pondering which difficulty to choose, Saori-chan tugged on my uniform hem again. When I turned, I found her looking up at me with sparkling, expectant eyes.
“You can clear even the highest difficulty, can’t you, senpai?”
“Um… eh?”
I could feel an overwhelming amount of trust and expectation. When I gave her a doubtful look that basically asked if she was serious, Saori-chan averted her gaze slightly and explained the reason behind her high hopes.
“The truth is, because almost no one has succeeded, we’ve been getting complaints that we raised the difficulty on purpose so we wouldn’t have to give out the prizes. We want to prove that while it’s difficult, it isn’t impossible…”
“But?”
“Even the students who succeeded during testing couldn’t do it once guests were watching. They got nervous and kept failing. Because of that, more and more people started doubting that anyone could ever succeed…”
I glanced toward the prize corner behind the girl. Sure enough, the reward for the highest difficulty was quite luxurious—a large basket filled with an assortment of snacks. It would be too much for one person, but it was the perfect amount to bring as a contribution for the after-party.
…It was easy to see why people might think the class was just pretending to offer it and planning to eat everything themselves.
“So you want me to prove that the prize can actually be won?”
“Yes. Out of everyone I know, I think you and the other seniors have the best chance, so… could I ask you to try?”
“Hmm…”
To be honest, if the task involved breaking something or carrying a heavy object, I could have confidently agreed. But this kind of delicate work was harder to guarantee, especially without practice. I did feel like my dexterity had improved after leveling up, but attempting it cold in a one-shot challenge was still…
I wanted to say it was impossible in a single try, but with those hopeful eyes on me, it was difficult to refuse outright. So…
“Since I haven’t practiced at all, don’t complain if I fail, okay?”
“Of course. And since there aren’t many challengers right now, you should have time to make several attempts.”
“…”
In other words, she was asking me to succeed within a few tries. My escape route of “it’s impossible without practice” had just been cut off.
The girl in charge, who had been listening, now looked at me with the same expectant gaze. There was no escaping this anymore.
“You can do it, senpai.”
“…All right. But don’t get your hopes up too much, okay?”
“Please do your best!”
…Was she even listening to me?
Letting out a somewhat resigned sigh, I told the girl I would challenge the highest difficulty.
“Understood. Preparing the highest difficulty mechanism now. Please wait a moment.”
“Ah, sure. Thank you.”
The girl cleared the other photos from the table and quickly arranged the necessary parts: five angled wooden boards, one hoop on a stand, the goal paper cup, and ten balls.
Finally, she handed me the completed sample photo and began her explanation.
“I’ll explain the mechanism. The ball must bounce off all five boards, pass through the hoop, and land inside the paper cup to clear it.”
“Does it absolutely have to bounce off every single board?”
“Yes. It must bounce off all five. If it misses even one, the attempt fails.”
“I see. Doing all that within ninety seconds… This really is difficult.”
Now I understood why no one had cleared it yet. The placement and angles of the boards, the force and bounce trajectory when throwing the ball, then passing through the hoop to reach the goal—there were far too many variables that needed precise adjustment. Trying to handle all of them in just ninety seconds would naturally lead to panic, repeated mistakes, and failure.
Wait… people seriously expected me to clear this on the first try?
“There are only ten balls?”
“Yes. If we provided too many, some people would just throw them all at random hoping for a lucky hit, which would defeat the purpose of our attraction. We want guests to enjoy the mechanism itself.”
“Ah, that makes sense. With a lot of balls, some would definitely think ‘just keep throwing until one goes in.’”
“Yes. Adjusting the setup piece by piece, learning from each failure, and finding the path to success—that is the true charm of this kind of mechanism.”
The girl explained the appeal with genuine enthusiasm, but I secretly sighed. I understood her point, yet asking someone to succeed at such a high-difficulty mechanism in a short time was simply too unreasonable. At the very least, they could have removed the hoop before the goal. Its presence alone made the difficulty explode.
I shook my head slightly to clear my stray thoughts and spoke.
“Understood. Shall we begin right away?”
“Yes. The time limit is ninety seconds. I will begin the countdown from five.”
Listening to her, I focused with the same intensity I used when fighting monsters in the dungeon. I stared hard at the sample photo, committing the layout to memory.
“Then we begin. Five… four…”
I shifted my gaze from the photo to the table and visualized the arrangement, making small mental adjustments.
“Two… one…”
I checked the actual parts on the table and made final corrections to my mental image.
“Zero—start!”
At her signal, I began placing the parts exactly where I had imagined them.
I finished setting up the mechanism in less than five seconds. Both Saori-chan and the girl let out small gasps of surprise at how quickly and decisively I had worked.
It was only natural they would be shocked. After all, someone who had never practiced was completing the setup without a single moment of hesitation.
““Amazing.””
There was no time to bask in their reactions. I immediately picked up the first ball. The initial throw was a test. I fixed a release point for consistency and lightly flicked the ball toward the first board with my finger.
It struck the first board and bounced vigorously onto the second and third. However, the impact angle on the first board must have been off, because after bouncing off the fourth it missed the fifth entirely.
““Aww…””
Regretful voices rose around me, but I ignored them and quickly corrected the misaligned board. That sequence had taken fifteen seconds. Adding the first five seconds, twenty seconds had passed, leaving seventy. Accounting for minor losses, I should still have time for four more attempts.
With that calculation in the back of my mind, I analyzed the cause of the failure. Insufficient force and a bad impact angle on the first board seemed to be the problem. I immediately began the second test.
““!?””
On the second attempt I flicked the ball harder, but the angle was still wrong. The ball reached the fifth board only to graze the stand of the hoop as it passed.
I swiftly adjusted the boards again, flicked with the same force as before, and aimed for the corrected angle.
““Ah, so close!””
The ball passed through the hoop and reached the paper cup, but the force had been too strong. It struck the far inner rim and bounced out. Still, I had grasped the trick.
I quickly realigned the boards once more, flicked the ball with the force I had refined on the third attempt, and struck the board at the exact same angle. The perfectly tuned ball followed the intended trajectory, bouncing cleanly before being sucked straight into the goal cup.
““Whoa!?””
““Incredible!””
Cheers erupted from throughout the classroom, celebrating my success. I checked the clock, confirmed I was still within the time limit, and let out a long breath. Thirty seconds remained. Success.
It looked like I had managed to live up to Saori-chan’s expectations after all.
Clearing an unreasonable request with explorer specs… I suppose that’s what this was.