Chapter 91

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While Mika and Saori were facing each other, creating their own world, Juzo and the three of us were facing each other.

"Is it okay, Kukyou-kun? Your sisters..."

"Daiki, if you're going to stop it, now's the time."

Shu and Yuzi looked at me with puzzled eyes. Juzo didn't say anything, but his eyes spoke volumes.

I shook my head in response to their gazes.

"It would be nice to say, 'It's Mika's decision, so there's nothing we can do,' but thinking about the future..."

"...You mean the talk about the three years of high school that Mika mentioned?"

"Yeah. I think we can protect them while we're still in school, but after we graduate, forming our own resistance organization... a guild, isn't necessarily a bad idea. But..."

"But?"

Shu, who looked puzzled, asked. I grimaced and hesitated to answer.

"...What form will this guild take?"

"Yeah."

In response to Yuzi's grim question, I nodded with a serious expression.

"Creating a school-recognized organization like a club or a hobby group would be the best way to appeal to the opposition and the middle ground... but..."

"That's..."

"Impossible."

"Probably... no, almost certainly impossible."

The activities of the repeat explorer team are strictly extracurricular, with no school involvement or competitions, so their achievements are not recognized by the school. If it were a school-recognized organization, the achievements of the explorers would be recognized. However, being a school-recognized organization means that a teacher must be the advisor... in other words...

"Explorers already have a high mortality rate. The school would never recognize an organization that has such activities as part of its mission."

"That's true. If a club member gets injured during a dungeon exploration, the advisor and the school would be held responsible. It's hard to imagine the school recognizing an organization that includes explorer activities in its mission."

"Exactly. The school wouldn't recognize such an organization."

Without school recognition, a guild established by an unknown first-year student would have no appeal to attract members. If Mika and Saori had the charisma to gain the support of the students without question, it would be a different story... but it's unrealistic to expect that from just high school students. The repeat explorers were able to form an organization among the first-year students because they had overwhelming power and ample funds. Otherwise, it would be impossible to form an organization of a certain size in such a short period.

"Given that, it's best to give up on the club or hobby group route."

"Yeah, that's probably the case. Whether it's a club or a hobby group, the school rules require an advisor for establishment."

"A research group wouldn't require an advisor, but..."

"That would be no different from the parties we form with our friends and acquaintances. There's no point in creating it."

The three of us struggled to come up with a good way to attract people, but we couldn't come up with a good idea. Then, Juzo spoke to us.

"Hey, you guys... the purpose of seeking school recognition is to gather first-year students who want to be explorers, right?"

"Right. Most people would choose a recognized organization over an unofficial one."

"People are weak for things like recognition and exclusivity."

"Then, it doesn't have to be an organization directly related to explorer activities, does it?"

"Oh, right."

After we answered, Juzo nodded and made a suggestion.

"How about an organization that teaches the necessary know-how for individual explorers?"

"Huh? What do you mean..."

"An organization that teaches the know-how for being an independent explorer, not affiliated with a company."

"Oh!"

"I see."

"That's a good idea."

The three of us were surprised but agreed with Juzo's suggestion. If we want to earn money in the dungeon as high school explorers, we need to start a business as individuals. If we engage in explorer activities throughout the year, we'll easily exceed the tax deduction limit. Last year, we almost got into trouble because of that.

"Even if it's necessary, it's a high hurdle for high school students to go to a law firm for business consultation."

"If we can set up an organization within the school to support that..."

"It would be a strong appeal to first-year students who want to be explorers."

"It would answer the question of where and who to ask for information."

In other words, we would use the practical knowledge of business procedures as bait to gather first-year students who want to be explorers. Since the activities are limited to practical procedures, we wouldn't have to bear the responsibility for injuries or deaths during explorer activities, which is the main reason the school would refuse recognition.

"There are many things to teach, like business registration, expense management, and tax processing."

"Given the content, the school might recognize it as a club or hobby group. They could argue that any injuries or deaths during explorer activities are outside the scope of the club's activities."

"Morally, it's a different story, but legally, it shouldn't be an issue..."

If the school were held responsible for the actions of a club member, it would be like holding the manga club responsible for a member who gets injured while trying to recreate manga techniques outside of school. If they were sued, it would be a case of suing the wrong party.

"Perhaps... a 'Personal Business Research Club'? The purpose could be to broaden future career options through business research..."

"A 'Personal Business Research Club'... that name might work. Given the current times, it's clear what 'personal business' refers to."

"The club would have five members: the three of us and the two of Mika and Saori. If we can secure an advisor, we'll meet the minimum requirements for establishing a club."

"An advisor... is there a teacher with free time?"

For teachers, being an advisor is essentially unpaid overtime. Some teachers even hold multiple advisor positions. In such a situation, it would be hard to find a teacher willing to take on the role of advisor for a new club... but...

"How about Mr. Masafune, who was our homeroom teacher last year? I heard the soccer club he advised is on hiatus due to a lack of members..."

"That's right. I heard the club was on hiatus due to a lack of members."

"...Most of the members became explorers, so there weren't enough people to participate in official matches."

The new rule that prohibited official matches for explorers caused a lot of first-year students to quit their clubs in March. Some continued their club activities even without official matches, but most of the sports club members quit. As a result, several clubs are still on hiatus. Some tried to recruit new members during the club introduction at orientation, but there were no enthusiastic new members willing to join the hiatus clubs.

"Well, if a lot of players start performing anime-like plays, some regulations might be made."

"True. If there were a lot of players who could score from the center line, it wouldn't be a game anymore."

"There was also an issue with professional soccer players who were suspended for exploring dungeons."

"That's right. I think it was a young player who couldn't make it to the first team."

"Right, that's what happened."

The team became suspicious of the young player's unnatural performance and discovered that he had been hiding his explorer activities. At the time, there were no clear regulations, but the player was treated as a doping case, left the team, and became an explorer.

There were similar cases from multiple teams, which caused a stir in the news for a while.

"Maybe Mr. Masafune is already an advisor for another club, but let's ask him."

"True. If Mr. Masafune can't do it, he might introduce us to another teacher with free time."

We don't know if a teacher will willingly take on the role, but it's free to ask. Moreover, the nature of the club we want to establish means that the risk of injury during club activities is low, there are no morning practices, and the after-school activities are short. There are no weekend activities either. In our school, these conditions might be quite good for a teacher who is forced to be an advisor.

At the very least, it wouldn't overly burden the teacher's duties.

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With our plan more or less set, I decided to call out to Mika and Saori, who were creating a beautiful world of friendship by holding hands.

"Ah... Mika, Saori? Can you join our discussion now?"

"..."

Mika and Saori quickly separated, their faces turning red with embarrassment. It's fine, though.

I cleared my throat and explained the content of our discussion to them. At first, they had a puzzled look, but as the conversation progressed, their expressions became more confused.

"...So, that's the plan. What do you think?"

"Establishing a club...?"

"Well, we could start as a hobby group. Clubs involve more formalities like competitions and external exchanges. Even without club funds, we can cover the expenses for supplies. The important point is that it's a school-recognized organization."

"Being recognized by the school is a great selling point for attracting people. Especially for those who want to be explorers, the activities of our new organization would be highly appealing. After all, they can learn things that are hard to find out otherwise. Normally, high school students don't have anyone to consult with about starting a business."

"Moreover, if the repeat explorer team opposes our new organization, the school would likely intervene. The school is hesitant to get involved in student conflicts, but if a school-recognized organization is involved, the situation changes. The school is probably looking for a way to intervene in this issue."

After listening to our explanation, Mika and Saori seemed to understand the gist of it, though they were still puzzled.

"Even if they ignore these factors and attack us, we should be able to buy time until Mika and Saori gain more strength."

"If they know we have our support, they probably won't attack until after the summer break... in the second semester."

"Is that so? If they do attack, they'll likely gather a team of a certain level and overwhelm us with numbers. They understand that the current first-year explorers can't beat the second and third-year teams, so they'll probably use the summer break to improve their team."

"Based on what Mika said, they don't seem to be an aggressive team... but if they become stronger, anything could happen. Even the most disciplined organizations have members who get carried away. Small triggers can lead to big conflicts. It's best to be prepared."

"I'll handle the procedures for establishing the club. Mika and Saori should train with Juzo. Explorers gain physical strength through level-ups, but mastering that strength requires practice."

"True. If there were skill-based abilities like in games, it would be different, but we haven't discovered such skills yet. Weapon handling has to be learned individually."

"Magic is similar. Learning magic skills allows you to use magic, but mastering them is more difficult than learning martial arts. With the limited EP and practice locations, it's often better to learn martial arts and use weapon attacks."

As Yuzi said, mastering magic is more challenging. Given the limited EP and practice locations, it's often better to learn martial arts and use weapon attacks, especially at lower levels.

"...Okay, I understand."

"Me too."

Mika and Saori listened to Yuzi and Yuzi, nodded seriously. I confirmed this and bowed to Juzo, entrusting the two to him.

"Juzo, we'll be busy with the club establishment for a while, so we might be late for training. Please take care of them in the meantime."

"Understood."

With Juzo's guidance, I can fully trust the two. With the plan mostly set, we ended the discussion and proceeded with the planned training. The sight of Mika and Saori watching our mock battle with wide-eyed amazement was quite memorable. When I told them that they could achieve this level in one or two months as explorers, they were even more surprised.

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The bait the protagonists are using is the knowledge needed to become independent business owners.

Since many high school students who become high-income explorers would want to become independent, this should be a strong appeal.