The conversation between Shigemori and me acted as a catalyst, sparking a sudden, frantic energy in the classroom. It was "lively," sure, but in all the wrong ways. The cause was my explorer classmates; they had latched onto the topic of explorer-related taxes that Shigemori and I had been discussing.
Every one of them wore a similarly panicked expression as they pressed me for details about our club's exhibition.
"...And that’s the gist of what our club was presenting at the festival," I finished.
"..."
The group surrounding us looked stricken, clearly realizing that this applied directly to them. Some were even twitching their fingers in the air, seemingly tallying up the total amount they had earned from material exchanges so far.
Man, it looked like everyone had been pulling in a steady income.
"...Is everyone okay?" I asked.
I was genuinely concerned for my frozen classmates, but their reactions were sluggish. They remained either staring down with troubled faces or gazing blankly at the ceiling.
I couldn't just leave them like that, so I decided to offer a bit of simple advice.
"Look, for better or worse, there’s still time before the end of the year. For now, you should probably talk to your parents. This isn't something you can handle alone, so it's better to consult them before you decide how to proceed, right?"
"...You're right. I'll try talking to my parents for now."
"Sorry for jumping into your conversation like that, Kokonoe, Shigemori. Hearing this really helped. If the year had ended without me knowing this, things would have been a disaster."
They still hadn't fully emerged from their stupor, but they seemed to have regained some composure. Realizing that I had provided a potential solution meant it wasn't an impossible problem to solve, which was a major factor.
Well, they might get chewed out by their parents for keeping their earnings a secret along the way, though...
"Um, Kokonoe-kun? I have a favor to ask..."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"The handouts you distributed at your club’s exhibit... do you have any left? If there are any to spare, I’d like one too..."
A girl among those surrounding us asked timidly. It was true that having that summary of explorer-related taxes would make it much easier for them to discuss the matter with their families.
Fortunately or unfortunately, a few copies we hadn't managed to hand out were still left, so giving them away wasn't an issue. The problem was...
"Ah, I want one too."
"Me too, me too."
Every classmate surrounding us began to stake their claim. Naturally, I didn't have enough left for everyone.
"I have a few extras, but definitely not enough for the whole group," I said. "I'll give you the original, so could you guys handle the copying yourselves?"
"Yeah, that works. Just getting it is a huge help, so we’ll take care of the copies."
"Then I'll go grab them since we still have time."
Once the matter was settled, I excused myself from Shigemori and left the classroom to pick up the remaining handouts I had left in the clubroom. I had been bored with nothing to do anyway, so this was the perfect way to kill time.
By the time I collected the handouts and returned to the classroom, most of the cleanup was finished, and the room was returning to its usual state. Since we hadn't put up any particularly flashy decorations, the process hadn't taken long.
As soon as they noticed I was back, the explorer classmates gathered around.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I brought the handouts."
"Thanks for the help, Kokonoe. You really saved us."
"Like I said, I don't have enough for everyone, so please copy them if you need one."
"Understood, thanks."
After giving them that brief reminder, I handed the few remaining handouts to my classmates. Those who received them immediately split into small groups and began poring over the contents.
While my classmates read through the papers, alternating between relief and despair, I approached Shigemori and Yuji, who were chatting after finishing their work.
"Good job. Sorry for stepping out earlier, Shigemori."
"Hm? Oh, Kokonoe. No problem at all. It would’ve been hard to refuse with that many people asking, anyway."
"Good work, Daiki," Yuji added. "I heard you went to the clubroom to get those handouts?"
"Yeah. Once I told them what our exhibit was about, they begged me for them, even if they were just leftovers."
I sat down in a chair at a vacant desk and joined their conversation. Since there was still a bit of cleanup time left, I figured I’d spend the rest of it chatting.
"Changing the subject, Kokonoe. I heard from Hirose that an incredible number of visitors came to your club's exhibition. Is that true?"
"Hm? Oh, it's true. It was an unexpected hit... honestly, I have no idea why so many people showed up. Right, Yuji?"
"Beats me. I thought I'd be able to man the booth at a relaxed pace, but I never imagined I'd have to deal with customers nonstop without a single break."
"Whoa, just how many came? From Hirose's story, it sounded like quite a lot, but was it the same during your shift too, Kokonoe?"
As Yuji and I sighed, grumbling about how much of a struggle it had been, Shigemori looked at us with a concerned expression and asked for an explanation.
Even so, as for how many people came...
"Around three hundred or so?"
"Probably something like that," Yuji agreed. "Most of the handouts we prepared were gone, after all."
"...Are you serious? Did that many people really come?"
"For some reason, the line just never ended..."
Hearing the specific number of visitors, Shigemori wore an expression of pure disbelief. It was an unbelievable number even for those of us who were actually handling it, so his reaction was only natural. Yuji and I looked at each other and couldn't help but let out wry smiles.
"Seriously, what on earth were you guys exhibiting? You said you displayed materials related to explorers, but can that really draw such a crowd? Did you do some special advertising or something...?"
"We didn't really do any advertising. At most, there was a tiny blurb in the school's festival guide."
"There weren't even any promotional posters on the school's bulletin boards," Yuji added.
"No way... how do you get that many people with just that...?"
For this school festival, we hadn't done anything that could be called proper advertising for the club's exhibition. Originally, it was just a plan to go through the motions to show that the club actually did something. While it would have been a problem if zero visitors showed up, I had intended for ten or twenty people to be more than enough.
Furthermore, I had thought that if there were few customers, we could take turns checking out other clubs' attractions during our downtime, but those plans were scrapped due to the unexpected popularity.
"Well, they came anyway. And since our exhibit wasn't food-related, we couldn't use the 'closed because we're out of ingredients' excuse. We had to deal with every single customer."
"I wish we could have cut it off somewhere, but looking at the line in front of the clubroom, it wasn't easy to just tell them we were closed," Yuji said.
"Ah, I see..."
Faced with Shigemori, who wore an indescribable expression, complaints poured out of Yuji and me incessantly. Considering some booths had barely any visitors, this was probably a "rich man's problem," but as someone who had actually dealt with an unexpectedly large crowd, I wanted to vent a complaint or two.
"Besides, a nuisance guest showed up, so I’m tired in more ways than one," I said.
"Yeah, that guy was seriously lacking common sense," Yuji agreed. "Apparently, he was dragged off the premises in the end..."
Dealing with troublesome guests in the middle of such a busy time was truly draining. We managed to handle it without a major scene, but I wondered if there was a way to prevent things like that in advance.
Reacting to our complaints, Shigemori spoke up as if he had realized something.
"Now that you mention it, I heard a rumor that shortly after the festival started, some teachers and an external guest were having an argument near the gate. Was that the guy who came to your place?"
"...Probably? I mean, I doubt we were the only target, but the possibility is high."
"Come to think of it, Hiiragi-san mentioned that the nuisance guest who came to our booth was taken away by the teachers..."
While it hadn't turned into a huge uproar, it seemed the rumors about the nuisance guest had definitely circulated. I suppose an outsider being forcibly removed by staff is bound to become gossip.
As we were talking, the allocated cleanup time came to an end.
"All right, everyone, stop cleaning for a moment and take your seats. We’re doing the end-of-day homeroom. You can finish the cleanup after we're done."
The teacher entered through the front door, which had been left open, and called out to us from the podium. After confirming that everyone was seated, the teacher addressed the class.
"First of all, good job, everyone. I’m glad we were able to finish the school festival without any major issues. It seems there was no chaos at the stalls, and the cleanup is mostly finished."
The teacher glanced at us and around the room, expressing their thoughts with a faint look of relief. Our class's attraction was the type where chaos was unlikely to occur, and we hadn't gone overboard with decorations.
"As I said this morning, this was the first school festival since the dungeons were opened. Compared to previous years, there were many unusual... dungeon-related attractions, but I think it was truly good that no major chaos broke out. Well, some trouble did occur, but it didn't escalate into anything serious."
I found myself wondering how many of those "minor troubles" I was involved in. I could think of at least two. Putting the corporate scout aside, I was a bit curious if the first incident had been resolved peacefully, though the chances were high that I wouldn't be involved with it anymore.
The teacher's speech continued.
"Now, the school festival is over, but there’s still cleanup left to do. Since classes will resume as usual next week, we can't keep the festive mood going forever. Although our class is almost done, looking at the school as a whole, the cleanup is far from over."
The school festival was an event that utilized the entire campus, so it wasn't something that could be finished in the allocated hour or so of cleanup time. While some places like ours were simple, there were bound to be groups that had gone all-out and were now facing a massive task.
I heard they were also clearing the entrance gates, but that would likely be handled tomorrow when the collection company arrived.
"Those of you going to help with cleanup elsewhere, be careful not to stay too late. Cleanup time has been secured for tomorrow morning as well. Also, while I don't mind you having an after-party to celebrate, make sure not to cause trouble for those around you. Every year, people go overboard and complaints are sent to the school. The worst is when people get carried away within their friend groups and do things like drinking. Naturally, if drinking or similar behavior is discovered, the school will consider measures such as suspension or expulsion for everyone involved."
The teacher swept a sharp gaze across us, driving the point home.
"This was a school festival that ended happily. The revelry of an after-party is another fun memory, but enjoy yourselves with moderation. I don't want to be called by neighbors because of you and have to rush over just to give you a lecture."
For a moment, a somewhat sorrowful look appeared in the teacher's eyes. Perhaps they had actually had to lecture students who failed to behave at an after-party in the past.
It was true; the school festival is an event meant to create fun memories, so you’d want it to remain one until the very end.
"Now then, I’m sure some of you are busy with cleanup and other things, so there’s no point in me talking forever. Let’s end homeroom here. I have no further announcements. Does anyone have anything they want to tell the class?"
The teacher scanned the room. Since no one raised their hand, they nodded slightly and prompted the student on duty to give the signal.
"Then, let's wrap this up. Student on duty."
"Rise. Bow."
"Thank you very much!"
Everyone bowed lightly, and the teacher returned the greeting before leaving the classroom. With this, the school festival was completely over. While there were some stressful moments, looking back, it had been a pretty fun event.
After cleaning the clubroom, we were planning a small appreciation party... a light after-party with the team, but given the teacher's warning, it was probably best to keep it modest. I caught Yuji and Hiiragi-san's eyes and gave them a small nod, thinking the same thing.