The commemorative souvenir-making concluded smoothly amidst some pleasant conversation, and after bidding Tanaka-kun farewell, I left Class 2-5’s room. My visit to their attraction had unearthed several issues, but since there would have been no way to improve them without knowing, I chose to look at it as a timely discovery.
Otherwise, I’d just be depressed over the discovery that unexpected—and potentially damaging—rumors were spreading about me.
"Well, it's about time. I think I'll head over to the club room. Even if I need to print more handouts, I should check how many are actually left first."
Even if they were flying off the shelves this morning, it would be a waste of paper to print too many if the momentum had died down. It was better to confirm the remaining count before heading to the copier.
With that thought, I left the floor housing the second-year classrooms and made my way toward the club room.
"As it's the one time of year they can showcase their work, this area is bustling too..."
I was surprised by the sheer amount of activity when I stepped into the building where the culture clubs were located. Every club room was packed with people, and some even had queues snaking out the doors.
I found myself curious about what kind of attractions could be popular enough to form actual lines.
"Every club is really giving it their all."
The school festival was one of the few opportunities for culture clubs to present their activities, and it was clear at a glance that every group had poured their hearts into their decorations. While none were quite as loud and flashy as the first-year attractions, the themed exteriors were of such high quality that they felt elegant rather than just busy.
In a word, the decorations were tasteful.
"Wait, no, I have to check on my own booth first."
I was tempted to peek inside and see what all the fuss was about, but I didn't have much free time left. I told myself it would be better to finish my chores first and then use whatever time remained to look around.
I shook off the temptation and picked up my pace toward my own club. There were just too many distractions around here.
"Wait... are there more external guests than before?"
As I climbed the stairs toward the club room, I noticed the demographic around me shifting. On the first and second floors, students seemed to outnumber the visitors, but the higher I went, the more the ratio tilted toward external guests.
Specifically, guests around the age of students' parents, many of whom were wearing troubled, pensive expressions.
"...I have a bad feeling about this."
With my steps growing heavier, I approached my destination. As I got closer to the room, the crowd became almost entirely composed of external guests.
Feeling a bit out of place, I finally reached the club room, only to find a completely unexpected sight waiting for me.
"Why is there a line at our place? And why is it almost all external guests...?"
The scene before me was our club room, bustling so much that a queue of external guests had formed outside.
Did our club even have an exhibit capable of drawing a crowd like this?
"..."
My thoughts ground to a halt. For a long moment, I simply stared at the crowded room with a dazed expression.
While I stood there, stunned, a familiar face appeared from within the chaos. Spotting me, she called out in a voice that sounded immensely relieved.
"Ah, Kokonoe-senpai!"
"Hi, Tatebayashi-san. Things seem... intense."
"I know! Suddenly, we were swamped with people..."
Tatebayashi-san approached me and gave a quick explanation of how things had ended up this way.
Apparently, for a while after she took over from Hiiragi-san and the others, the traffic had been manageable. But once the afternoon hit, a sudden surge of external guests had arrived. She didn't know the exact details, but it seemed like rumors had spread through the people who visited during the morning shift. Word had gotten out to their acquaintances, and now parents and guardians were flocking to our club in droves.
"It seems most of the guests are after the display materials you made, Kokonoe-senpai. We already printed one batch of extras, but we’re almost out again."
"Wait, you already printed extras? And they're already gone...?"
"Exactly. I was just about to go and print a second batch of replacements."
I truly began to lose track of what was happening. I had heard about the morning's situation from Hiiragi-san, so we had planned to print a decent number of extras to bring along, but the reality had far exceeded our expectations.
We had already replenished the stock once, and we were already running low again?
"I’ll go take care of the printing. I’d heard a bit from Hiiragi-san, so I was planning on bringing more anyway. That's why I came by—to see how many more we needed."
"Oh, is that okay?"
"Of course. So, how many should I go for? Looking at that line, I'm thinking at least a hundred..."
"It might be better to have more than that. When we printed the first batch of extras, we thought a hundred would be plenty, but it didn't last long at all."
A hundred for the first extra batch... which meant that including the initial stock, nearly two hundred had been handed out already. Were they really that popular? It was a bit overwhelming.
To be honest, it was just a summary of information that anyone could find with a bit of research into tax matters. It wasn't the kind of thing people should be lining up for...
"I see... Well, since the line doesn't look like it's going away, it might be better to prepare a lot."
"I agree..."
Tatebayashi-san and I watched as new guests joined the end of the line. It didn't look like it would let up anytime soon. I had no idea what kind of rumors were circulating, but where were all these people coming from?
"...Maybe I should print 150 copies."
"That sounds about right. Some guests were asking for two or three copies to give to their friends, so we'll probably need that many."
"Maybe we should have limited it to one per person from the start..."
"If we did that, the line probably would have just gotten longer."
A line longer than this? No thanks. Even now, there were more than ten people waiting just to get in. Popularity was one thing, but this was a bit much. A pointlessly long line was just a nuisance to the other clubs nearby.
"Well, whatever. Anyway, I'll go print the handouts. Since it’s a lot of pages, it might take a bit."
"Understood. Thank you so much."
"It'll probably be fine, but if I'm not back by the shift change, let Mika know I'm on my way."
"I will."
With that, I took the original master copy from Tatebayashi-san and left the area as she headed back into the room.
I wondered how long it would take to finish a run of that size.
Observing the general bustle of the school festival, I made my way toward the teachers' office. In this school, the only copier available for student use was located there.
"Yeah, people definitely don't come this way."
As this area was clustered with the teachers' office and administrative rooms, there were almost no external guests to be seen, even during the festival. Despite the festivities elsewhere, nobody would bother coming here without a specific reason.
I passed through the quiet hallway and arrived at the office.
"...I can sense people inside, so I guess a few teachers stayed behind while the others are out on patrol."
That was only natural; just because the school was hosting an event didn't mean the administrative work stopped.
I took a deep breath to steady myself and knocked on the door. Even though I wasn't being summoned for some transgression, the teachers' office always made me feel a little tense.
"Excuse me. I'm here to use the copier."
I heard a muffled "Come in," and after a polite greeting, I stepped inside.
As expected, the room was mostly empty, with only a few teachers working quietly at their desks.
"The copier is free. Help yourself."
"Thank you very much."
After getting permission from a male teacher sitting near the door, I headed toward the career resource corner. It was a section of the office partitioned off with screens to make it easier for students to come in for consultations.
However, many people complained that they could still be overheard, leading to frequent debates about whether the school should just provide a dedicated, separate room.
"Let's see... ten yen for black and white, thirty for color... At least the price is the same for double-sided copies."
Since I was printing 150 copies, the total would be 1,500 yen.
I pulled the money from my wallet and dropped it into the metal tin kept beside the machine. While it was more convenient than feeding coins into a convenience store copier, the honor system they used seemed like it would be easy for someone to cheat.
"Right, I don't have much time, so let's get this over with."
Dismissing my idle thoughts about the collection method, I quickly scanned both sides of the master handout. I set the machine for 150 double-sided copies and hit the button.
"And... start."
It took a moment for the first page to emerge, but once it did, the machine started churning them out at a rapid clip. At this rate, as long as it didn't run out of paper or ink, it would be done in under five minutes.
As expected, the task was finished in no time. Industrial copiers really were impressively fast.
"Alright, looks like no misprints."
I did a quick spot check to make sure there were no blurs or blank pages. The copies looked perfect.
"...I still have some free time, but I should probably drop these off first."
My original plan had been to check out other club attractions after printing and then return to my booth for my shift. But considering the queue I’d seen earlier, it was better to deliver these immediately.
The people in line were adults, so I didn't think they'd start a riot if we ran out, but it was better to be proactive and avoid any potential trouble.
"Excuse me, I'm finished."
I tucked the stack of handouts under my arm and left the office with a polite bow. I’d been running the machine for a while, so the teacher I’d spoken to earlier gave me a curious look, but since I’d paid the full amount, there was no problem.
When I returned to the club room, I found that the line, which I’d hoped might have shortened, had actually grown. There were probably twenty people waiting now. Why?
"It's even longer..."
For a split second, I considered turning around and hiding until my shift started, but I knew I couldn't do that. Steeling my resolve, I pushed through into the room.
"Welcome... Oh, it's just you, Daiki."
"Hey, Yuji. You're doing a roaring trade."
"It's insane. I have no idea why so many people are flocking to our club."
"I was thinking the same thing. Anyway, here."
I handed the heavy stack of handouts to Yuji, who looked visibly worn down. This should be enough to last them a while.
"Thanks. Sorry to make you do this during your break."
"No worries. This level of success was definitely unexpected."
"Seriously. It was meant to be an exhibit for the students, but for some reason, it's really struck a chord with the external guests... or rather, the parents."
"...Maybe they just don't talk about taxes at home? As an explorer, you can luck into a huge amount of money in a single day."
True, students who actually thought about taxes were a rarity. But when they made a major score in a dungeon, didn't they talk to their parents about it? If a student won tens of thousands of yen in the lottery, I figured they'd at least mention it.
"Looking at this crowd, I'm guessing they didn't. They probably think that since it's money they worked for and earned, they can do whatever they want with it. While that’s not entirely wrong, they’re still legal dependents, so they should at least consult their guardians."
"Exactly. Honestly, the licensing lectures should probably cover this for student explorers. If they addressed it from the start, a lot of these issues would probably vanish."
"Tell me about it."
Still grumbling about the source of his sudden workload, Yuji began distributing the fresh handouts to the waiting guests.
If the crowd kept growing at this rate, I might have to go and print even more copies when my own shift started.