By clearing the highest difficulty mechanism—a feat previously thought impossible—the guests watching my challenge and the student clerks alike erupted in praise. The explosive cheering even drew the attention of students outside, who began peering through the entrance to see what the commotion was about.
The uproar was so intense I almost wanted to tell everyone to settle down.
"Congratulations! You did it!"
The girl working as a clerk spoke with excitement, a bright smile on her face as she announced my success. This triggered another wave of cheers from the crowd, making the room so noisy it was almost out of control.
While I recognized that clearing an undefeated game was a significant achievement, the sheer scale of the reaction made me feel oddly detached. I wondered how I was supposed to bring things back to order.
"That was amazing, Senpai! I knew you could do it!"
Saori-chan was celebrating my victory as if it were her own. Even if she knew about my usual explorer activities and assumed I had the physical capability, success in this kind of game was never a guarantee. Since she had introduced me to her classmates with such confidence, it would have been awkward for her if I’d failed. Having me clear it on my very first try must have made her feel incredibly proud.
I accepted Saori-chan’s praise with a humble nod while scanning the room.
"Whoa, he actually pulled it off!"
"What the hell was that? His movements were so steady!"
"Wait, is that guy...?"
"Tch. He actually cleared it... He should have failed miserably."
There were guests with expressions of pure shock, some with eyes wide with dread, others who seemed to recognize me from my performance at the sports festival, and one male Store Clerk who clicked his tongue with a look of pure spite. Wait, that last guy... "failed miserably"? Did I do something to him?
While I was slightly bothered by a few of the reactions, the girl clerk called out to me, pulling my focus back.
"Congratulations! Here is your prize!"
"Thanks. Wow, this is quite a lot."
I took the prize from her—a large basket overflowing with an assortment of snacks. A quick look inside revealed a huge variety of treats. Most were small, individual bags, which would be perfect for everyone to share during the school festival after-party.
"We included a lot of different types so no one gets bored. If it's all large bags, people tend to lose interest toward the end."
"I appreciate the thought. Thank you—I'm sure everyone will be happy to eat these."
"You're very welcome! Once again, congratulations on your success!"
I held up the snack basket with a smile, making sure the remaining guests could see it. This was my way of resolving the issue Saori-chan had brought to me—proving that the game was difficult but not impossible to win. By demonstrating a clear victory and claiming the prize right in front of them, the complaints about the game being rigged to be "uncleasable" just to save on prizes should disappear.
My intention seemed to land. Taking my raised prize as a cue, the guests’ cheers and applause filled the classroom once more.
"I think that should do it, right?"
Once the excitement had died down a bit, I checked with Saori-chan near the entrance to see if I’d met her request. It had turned into quite a spectacle, but in terms of making an impact, I thought it was a perfect success.
"Yes! I'm sure those weird complaints will stop now. Thank you so much."
"I'm glad I could help."
Saori-chan gave a light bow as she thanked me, and I let out a breath of relief.
"I’ll take these over to the clubroom for now. We can all eat them during the wrap party."
"Are you sure? You’re the one who won them, Senpai. You should take them home..."
"No, this is way too much for one person. It’ll be gone much faster if we all dig in. It'll be a nice addition to the party food anyway."
"I see... Well then, I look forward to the treat at the party."
With that, the prize snacks were officially designated as party supplies for the club. There was a significant amount, so there would be plenty for everyone.
"See you later, Saori-chan."
"See you later!"
I bid her farewell and stepped out of the classroom.
Now, where to next?
After leaving Mika’s class, I decided to wander through the first-year floor and look at the other attractions from the outside. People might wonder why I didn't just go in, but seeing the reactions from the first-years in that room made me hesitate. Even if I had the excuse of helping Mika, I was well aware that I had shaken up the first-year social order in many ways. While some students like the clerk from before were friendly, there were bound to be others who resented the senior who had come in and stirred things up, including former members of Goto-kun’s group who had stayed at the school.
Given the whirlpool of complex emotions the first-years likely felt toward me, it didn't feel right to just wander into their space when I didn't have a specific reason or a personal connection like I did with Mika's group.
"Oh, this one’s a cafe too... though it’s very niche."
I couldn't tell which country it was supposed to represent, but the interior was decorated in a Southeast Asian style. The most striking feature was the sheer number of warding masks—I had no idea where they’d even gotten them all. Covering an entire wall with those masks felt a bit excessive. Even the guests drinking tea inside looked a bit stiff as they stared at the wall of faces.
Moving on, I peeked into the next room.
"Balloon art, huh..."
The classroom was filled with colorful balloons shaped into animals and anime characters. They had used the blackboard at the front to arrange balloons into a mural, and a massive balloon tower rose from the center of the room.
In one corner, they seemed to be running a balloon art workshop. The sound of popping balloons echoed repeatedly as people struggled to twist them into dogs.
"I mean, I get that balloons pop, but maybe they should have picked a simpler subject that's harder to break? Those loud bangs are going to start bothering the neighbors..."
Every time a balloon burst, several students and external guests would stop in their tracks and peer into the room with startled looks. They probably should have put up a sign warning people about the noise.
Musing over that, I left the popping balloons behind and looked into the next classroom.
"This one is... a shooting gallery?"
The attraction used handmade small bows. Targets were set up in front of the back blackboard, with the size and distance varying by difficulty. The easiest level had quite large targets and was fairly crowded. The highest difficulty involved hitting a target roughly the size of a 500-yen coin from the teacher’s platform.
I wondered if this place was suffering from the same complaints as Mika’s class.
"Ah, as I thought. That's a tough one."
A male student who looked like a student explorer was attempting the hardest target. As I expected, he missed by a hair. Since the bows and arrows were handmade, they lacked precision; the arrows wobbled up, down, left, and right with every shot.
Eventually, he ran out of arrows.
"Hey! This junk is broken! You can't hit anything with this! Don't play dirty just because you don't want to give out prizes!"
"We aren't being dirty! It's not about the prizes. The rule for that difficulty level is that you have to use those specific bows and arrows. It is possible—others have hit the target with them before!"
"Don't lie to me! There's no way to get a straight shot with this crap!"
Yeah, it seemed difficult complainers were a universal constant. The guest was aggressively accusing the staff of fraud while the student clerk tried to soothe him with a troubled expression. The other guests watched the scene unfold with worried faces.
If I stepped in now, there was a good chance I’d just make the situation more complicated.
"That's enough, please."
While everyone else was hesitating, a female student who appeared to be one of the clerks stepped forward.
"What!?"
"With all due respect, there is no fraud. Every person who has cleared this difficulty has used those exact bows and arrows."
"Ha! Don't give me that. If it's so easy, why don't you show me!"
The complaining male student, clearly feeling challenged, thrust the bow and arrow toward her. The female student looked surprised for a moment, but then a small, dry smile crossed her face as she accepted the equipment.
The guy was clearly letting his blood boil, acting quite immaturely because he couldn't find a way to back down gracefully.
"...Very well. If I succeed, will you withdraw your claim of fraud?"
"Yeah, if you can actually do it! But with that garbage arrow, it's impossible for anyone!"
"I understand. Then..."
The situation had escalated because neither side was willing to yield. Amidst the concerned gazes of the guests and other staff, the girl stood at the firing line and readied the bow. The male student watched with a smug grin, clearly expecting a failure, but the girl seemed completely unfazed, focused entirely on her goal.
After a few seconds of silence, she released the arrow.
"What!?"
"Whoa!"
"Amazing!"
The arrow flew true and pierced the target. The crowd erupted. The male student stared at the target, mouth agape, looking like he couldn't believe his eyes. After making such a scene about it being impossible, seeing it done in one shot was clearly a shock.
He seemed to regain his senses after a moment and shook his head, likely about to claim it was just a fluke. But before he could speak, the girl—completely ignoring the crowd's reaction—readied a second arrow. And then...
"!"
"Oh! She did it again! Two in a row!"
The second arrow hit the mark perfectly, proving that her first shot hadn't been a stroke of luck. Once might be a coincidence, but twice was a display of skill.
After the second shot, the girl exhaled to release her tension and turned to the complaining student with a calm expression.
"How was that? Do you understand now that the game is not impossible to clear?"
"..."
Faced with her success at the highest difficulty, the male student glared at her with frustration. A heavy, tense silence filled the room for a moment, but it broke when he gave a sharp, reluctant nod.
"Fine... Sorry for the accusations."
"No, I am simply glad you understand."
"Tch! I'm leaving!"
The girl’s excessively polite tone seemed to grate on him. He clicked his tongue and stomped out of the shooting gallery, radiating irritation. As he passed, I caught a glimpse of his face; he looked humiliated and resentful. I just hoped he wouldn't cause more trouble later.
Once he was gone, the room filled with praise for the girl who had handled the situation so well.
"That was incredible!"
"Good job!"
"Everyone, I apologize for the disturbance. Please, continue to enjoy the games."
The girl bowed shyly as she spoke to the crowd.
Then, scanning the room, she noticed me peering in from the entrance and called out.
"Would you like to try as well?"
"...Me?"
"Yes. You seemed quite interested, so please, don't be shy."
"Ah, right. Well..."
Urged on by her invitation, I stepped into the classroom to sign up.
I wondered if I really should be doing this.
Repelling the complainer was a success, but...?