Chapter 92

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The next day, I asked Juzo to take Mika and Sae's training, and we made our way to the staff room after school to look for an advisor. After reviewing the school rules written in the student handbook yesterday, we found that the necessary items for establishing a club were a specified number of members, an advisor teacher, and the specificization of the club's purpose and goals.

We already had the required number of members, and we had also written down the club's purpose and goals, so the only thing left was to secure an advisor teacher.

"First, let's talk to our homeroom teacher, Mr. Hirasaki. It wouldn't be good to suddenly ask Mr. Masafune to be our advisor without making an appointment."

"That's true. If we don't talk to Mr. Hirasaki first, rumors might spread that the homeroom teacher isn't being relied on by the students."

"First, we should consult with the homeroom teacher. That's the proper way to do things."

"Right. Ah, we're here."

As we talked, we walked down the hallway and found ourselves in front of the staff room. Since it was after school, there weren't many students around.

I knocked on the door of the staff room and waited for permission to enter. We didn't want to barge in if there was a meeting that students shouldn't hear.

"Come in."

"Excuse us."

After waiting for permission, I apologized and we entered the staff room. Inside, rows of desks for teachers were lined up, and about half of them were occupied by teachers.

I didn't go deep into the staff room but approached a middle-aged male teacher sitting near the entrance.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Hirasaki here?"

"Mr. Hirasaki? Hmm, wait a moment. Mr. Hirasaki!?"

In response to the middle-aged male teacher's call, a hand was raised from the back of the staff room.

"Here!"

"There are some students looking for you!"

"Understood, thank you!"

It seems Mr. Hirasaki was in the staff room. After thanking the middle-aged male teacher, we moved to where the hand was raised. As we approached, Mr. Hirasaki, who had been organizing documents, looked up and seemed slightly surprised to see us.

"Huh? Kujou, Hime, and Hase. What brings you all here?"

"Mr. Hirasaki, we wanted to consult with you... Is it okay to talk now?"

"Yes, it's fine. So, what's the consultation about?"

"Well... We're thinking of starting a new club and came to consult about it."

"..."

When I mentioned starting a club, Mr. Hirasaki initially showed a slightly displeased expression but quickly put on a smile.

"I don't know what kind of club you want to start, but you need at least five members to start a club. Do you have enough people?"

"Yes. We've already talked to two more people and they've agreed, so the number of members isn't a problem."

"I see... Then, have you decided on the club's purpose and goals? Like what you want to do and what you aim to achieve."

"Yes. Please take a look."

I handed Mr. Hirasaki a memo I had prepared, which outlined the club's purpose and goals. Mr. Hirasaki read the memo and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey! What, you guys... are serious?"

"Yes... Is it not okay?"

"No, it's not that it's not okay..."

Mr. Hirasaki, looking confused, scratched his head and looked back at the memo. It seems the idea of an entrepreneurship research club was concerning him.

"Considering recent needs, I don't think it's that strange..."

"Maybe, but... a club like this for high school students..."

Mr. Hirasaki seemed to have a slight aversion to a club he wasn't familiar with.

"Many high school students are explorers these days. I think it would be good to have a place in school where students can get entrepreneurship advice if they want to start their own businesses as explorers."

"We are also explorers who have started our own businesses, so we can give advice to other students based on our experience."

"I think high school students would be hesitant to participate in entrepreneurship consultations organized by the government. But if it's from other students, they can ask questions without hesitation."

"Helping those in trouble... in a way, it's like a volunteer group."

Exactly. On the surface, the club we want to start is like a counseling room for troubled students. Since we aim to provide professional advice to troubled students, it can be considered a volunteer group. Of course, it's not entirely free, so it's not a pure volunteer group.

"Hmm..."

Mr. Hirasaki grunted and continued to stare at the memo. As expected, it wasn't a favorable reaction.

Let's at least bring up the advisor issue.

"Mr. Hirasaki, about the advisor... Is there any teacher who isn't already an advisor to a club and might have some free time? According to the school rules, we need at least one advisor teacher."

"An advisor...?"

"Is it difficult?"

"All the teachers in our school are already advisors to some club. However, there are clubs where multiple teachers serve as advisors. Let me think... someone who might agree to be an advisor..."

Mr. Hirasaki folded his arms and started to think, apparently looking for a teacher who might be willing to take on the role. After a few minutes, he mentioned a teacher's name.

"How about Mr. Hashimoto, who is the assistant advisor for the volleyball club? I believe Mr. Hashimoto graduated from an economics university, so he might understand your activities."

"Mr. Hashimoto...?"

"What, you don't know him?"

"No, I haven't had his class, but I know his face from school assemblies."

Mr. Hashimoto, I believe, is a new young female teacher who started this year. Since school has only been in session for about a month, I don't know much about Mr. Hashimoto. I looked at Yuzi and Hime for their opinions, but they also seemed to not know much about him.

"Anyway, I'll let Mr. Hashimoto know. You can talk to him directly. He's not here now, so come to the staff room again after school tomorrow."

"Ah, yes. Understood."

"I'm sorry. Ah, and..."

Mr. Hirasaki turned on his notebook PC, opened a file, and started printing.

"Here, the application form for a new club. If Mr. Hashimoto agrees, fill in the blanks and submit the form. It will start as a club, but if you achieve good results in competitions, you can upgrade to a full club."

"Thank you."

I took the application form and thanked Mr. Hirasaki. However, what kind of competition do entrepreneurship researchers participate in? A symposium?

We bowed to Mr. Hirasaki and left the staff room with the application form in hand.

---

After receiving the application form, we left school and met up with Mika and the others. We were about an hour late, but when we arrived at the dojo, we saw Mika and Sae lying on the floor, barely breathing.

...What happened?

"Um... Mr. Juzo?"

I called out to Mr. Juzo, who was meditating next to the fallen Mika and Sae. He slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

"Oh, you're finally here."

"They both look exhausted... What did you do?"

"Hmm? I just had a sparring session with them until they reached their physical limits. They had more stamina than I thought."

Mr. Juzo said it as if it was nothing, but reaching their physical limits...

I looked at the fallen Mika and Sae. Yeah... they look like they're about to die.

"Don't worry. Before starting the training, I had to determine their physical limits to decide the training content. If I had started with the same intensity as when you guys began, they would have broken down in three days."

"Three days...? We... did that kind of training?"

"Didn't you realize? Normally, such intense training isn't given to beginners. It would just break them down."

"..."

"Yuzi aside, Kujou and Hime were beginners. Regardless of strength and stamina, their bodies weren't prepared for martial arts. The continuous basic training and kata practice were to make their bodies accustomed to martial arts. It would have been dangerous to teach them advanced techniques before they were ready."

"Indeed, for the first week, we only did basic training and kata practice."

"Without stamina, you can't maintain the correct sword movements or basic forms. If your form is off, it puts more strain on your body. If you continue with a bad form, it can lead to injuries. At that stage, your stamina was far above average, so we could compress what would normally take months into one week."

Mr. Juzo seemed to be reminiscing, but Yuzi and I, who were hearing this for the first time, had our faces contorted. We didn't realize we had been subjected to such intense training. When we looked at Yuzi, he avoided our gaze.

"Yuzi..."

"Hase..."

"Umm... Well, what can I say? The hardships we endured then led to where we are now. As they say, a good ending makes everything good..."

"..."

"Sorry."

Yuzi, unable to withstand our silent protest, bowed and apologized. Sigh...

Mr. Juzo, who had been watching our interaction with amusement, brought up the topic of Mika and Sae's training.

"Anyway, Mika and Sae don't have the same exceptional stamina as you guys, so I'll focus on mental preparation and moderate training until they start exploring dungeons."

"Please don't push them too hard and make them break down."

"Of course. Unlike you, they aren't that tough."

What is our position in Mr. Juzo's mind?

I want to know, but I don't really want to know...

"Anyway, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and change into your training gear."

"Ah, sorry."

We quickly went up to the dojo and headed to the changing room to change.

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After changing, we came out to the training area. Mika and Sae, who had been lying on the floor, were now sitting against the wall, drinking tea. Mr. Juzo must have prepared it for them.

"Are you both okay?"

"Ah, big brother... Yeah, we're okay."

"Yes. We can't move much yet, but we're okay."

They seemed to have calmed down, but their bodies were still weak from fatigue. They should be able to move after resting for a while.

"We're going to start training now, so take it easy and watch us."

"Okay."

"Okay."

I called out to Mika and Sae and moved to the center where Mr. Juzo was waiting.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Alright. Where are Yuzi and Hime?"

"They should be here soon."

"Okay. By the way, Kujou, how was school?"

"It was okay."

I reported to Mr. Juzo about the conversation we had in the staff room.

"So, it seems everything is fine except for the advisor issue. We're going to talk to the potential advisor tomorrow."

"I see."

"The potential advisor is a new teacher from an economics university, so he seems to have some knowledge about entrepreneurship. However, since he doesn't teach our class, I'm not sure about his personality."

"Well, you'll have to confirm that when you meet him. I hope it goes smoothly."

"Yes."

Still, will a teacher agree to be an advisor, which is essentially unpaid overtime? I think the burden is lighter compared to other clubs, but I hope it goes smoothly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Sorry for the delay."

As we were talking, Yuzi and Hime appeared.

"Alright, everyone's here... Let's start."

"Okay."

Mr. Juzo stood up and reached for a wooden sword hanging on the wall behind him.

"First, let's do a light sparring session as a warm-up. Shall we start with Yuzi?"

"Sure."

Yuzi took a shorter wooden sword, modeled after a katana, from the opposite wall and faced Mr. Juzo. Hime and I took a wooden sword and a wooden spear, respectively, and moved to the wall where Mika and Sae were resting.

I gave a warning to Mika and Sae, who looked tired.

"You both look tired, but don't take your eyes off Yuzi and Mr. Juzo's sparring session. It's dangerous."

"Dangerous?"

"Is it dangerous just to watch?"

Since they were tired, they didn't seem to understand my warning.

"Mr. Juzo might throw a kunai during the sparring session, so be on guard."

"Really?"

"A kunai?"

"During battles with monsters, stray attacks from other monsters can fly by. This is to train you to stay alert even when you're not directly involved in the fight. The kunai are made of soft resin, but they can still hurt if they hit you..."

Mika and Sae, understanding the danger, forced their tired bodies to pay close attention to Yuzi and Mr. Juzo's sparring session.

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First, we should consult with the homeroom teacher. If we rush into things, it could cause problems later. Unpredictable attacks during training with Mr. Juzo are the default.