Vol 1 Chapter 9 (1/2)

VOLUME 1-1

Chapter 9

“Are you nervous?”

“J-Just a little.”

Touya fretted over Homura as they headed for the Exploration Club room.

“Do you want to go to the toilet first?”

“I’ll go later. Or rather, a building that big has to have a toilet of its own inside!”

“Well, it does, but…”

The source of her anxiety didn’t lie in the fortress-like building towards that didn’t suit the school grounds it was on, and towards which they were heading.

“Oh, senpai.”

The source of Homura’s nervousness was waiting in front of the building.

“Welcome, back.”

Misasagi-senpai waited in the hallway before the club building.

When she saw Homura and Touya, she waved her hand a little.

“Good morning, senpai!”

“Good morning, Touya, kun. And, Hinooka-san, too. Welcome to the, Exploration Club room.”

“I look forward to working with you from now on, Misasagi-senpai.”

Homura placed her hands on her knees and bowed deeply.

“Yes, I look forward, to working with, you too.”

Senpai’s beautiful hair drifted forward a little as she nodded in greeting.

With senpai leading them, they went to stand inside the entrance floor that led into the club building.

The cypress signboard above the door seemed mismatched with the words [Exploration Club] written on it in huge letters.

Senpai placed her hand on the stand that protruded out of the floor, in front of the gla.s.s door. There was a palm mark on the stand. It was a vein scanner, something that Homura had only ever seen in movies before.

“……”

But it didn’t react at all.

Senpai tilted her head in confusion.

“Senpai, your terminal.”

“Ah.”

After Touya whispered that to her, senpai took out her terminal with the letters UNPIEP inscribed on it and held it over the stand’s sensor before once more placing her palm on it.

An electronic beep rang out, indicating the completion of authentication.

“Three people, entering.”

After senpai said that into a mike next to the door, a small camera lens embedded in the wall flashed for an instant. The light seemed to have scanned her.

A message indicating permission to enter directly appeared on the reinforced gla.s.s door, which then slid open.

While feeling impressed, Homura took a step into the club building.

“It all seems too strict.”

“I know, right? I still can’t enter on my own yet either.”

“It measures, your body weight, too.”

“Wha-!?”

After senpai told her that, Homura jumped in fright on the floor mat.

“The weight of the club members is monitored as well!?”

“We can’t have anyone bringing in anything that could be a nuisance, after all.”

“I-I see… You can’t be too careful, I guess.”

There was an elevator right after the entrance, upon which there was a simple sketch of the building’s layout.

“Training room… Stand-by Night Duty room… Network Terminal Room… Back Storage…”

There was a list of rooms whose names she had never heard of.

The first floor was apparently occupied by a single large room, while facilities related to everyday living were concentrated on the second floor. There was an astronomical observation dome on the roof. The bas.e.m.e.nt seemed to be a storehouse.

“Ah, like I thought, there really is a fully-equipped kitchen here.”

“We’ll show you, around the rooms, later. For now, we’re going to, the second floor.”

Guided by sempai, they got on the elevator and went up to the standby room on the second floor.

This room was the closest to the image of a club room in Homura’s mind, making her feel slightly relieved.

A standard table surrounded by pipe chairs, a small TV and a multimedia player.

There were also a tea pot and personal belongings that had been left lying around.

The part that Homura was the most grateful for was the room’s window, which faced the mountain behind the school. It would have been perfect if it faced the school grounds, but that seemed unlikely in this strangely thick-walled building.

“Welcome.”

Sitting in a chair with her legs crossed, Fujimori greeted Homura and the others as they entered.

“Well done getting into the Exploration Club, Hinooka Homura, though you went through a bit of a detour to get here…”

Fujimori stood and placed one hand energetically on the table.

“This is your starting point.”

A map was laid out on the table.

Fujimori tapped a pen against it with a thump.

“First, let’s finish up the ceremony. Here, Misasagi.”

Fujimori handed a packaged, brand-new portable terminal, several doc.u.ments and a card to Misasagi.

Misasagi was taken aback.

“Is it all right, for me to, do it?”

“Of course. You’re the club president here.”

Going over to stand in the middle of the room, Misasagi-senpai and Homura solemnly faced each other.

Even the way senpai cleared her throat was cute and lovely.

“Then, Seiran High Cla.s.s 1-A, Student ID Number ***, Hinooka Murya… Homura-san.”

“Yes.”

Senpai had fumbled on her name.

“—From today onwards, you are appointed the t.i.tle of Beginner rank investigator, within the Exploration Club under the j.a.panese branch of the UNPIEP.

Imaginary Earth Investigation Director and Exploration Club Advisor Fujimori Chiayu,

and Senior Investigator and Exploration Club President Misasagi Mayo.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you very much.”

Fujimori and Touya clapped as Homura received the investigator license.

It was a small club with three members and a single advisor.

When Homura sat down beside Touya, Misasagi belatedly brought her a plain paper carton that she took out from the refrigerator.

“This is… to celebrate Hinooka-san’s, entry into the club, meager as it may, be.”

“Oh, Misasagi’s apple pie. It’s been a while since you last made it,” said Fujimori.

“Yes.”

“Wow, thank you so much. It looks delicious!”

“It’s a recipe I’m proud, of.”

“Yet, I don’t remember you making any when I joined…”

After Touya murmured that in shock, Misasagi became fl.u.s.tered.

“Sorry… Back then, I had just, been made president, and was still getting, used to it…”

“It’s all right, senpai. I’ll eat two meals worth of it today.”

“Yes, please eat, lots.”

Touya gave her a broad smile, causing Misasagi-senpai to pat her chest in relief.

“But, yesterday evening, I turned on my, home’s oven for the, first time in a while…”

Misasagi hung her head midway through her words and fell silent.

Fujimori stood up frantically.

“D-Don’t cry, Misasagi! Today’s supposed to be a happy day!”

Fujimori patted the shoulder of the dejected senpai.

“All right, Touya! Bring out the plates and knives! Hmm, does black tea go well with pie?”

“Roger that, sensei. I’ll bring the plates!”

“I’ll drink tea.”

“Make it yourself, Hinooka.”

The Exploration Club members ate the apple pie with relish at the table.

The room next door was apparently a break room.

“It’s my first time coming here, but this club building really is amazing. How much money does it all cost?”

“You know, you might be the first person to be interested in that kind of detail. If I remember right, the main building costs about five billion yen.”

“Five billion!?”

“What? It’s pretty cheap compared to something like an aircraft carrier or stealth fighter.”

“Isn’t comparing it to an aircraft carrier a bit of an exaggeration?” Touya pointed out.

“No, in a certain sense, this place is our country’s aircraft carrier.”

Misasagi also nodded in agreement.

“Well, it’s my job as the club’s advisor to carefully consider such minor matters so that you guys don’t have to worry about it.”

“Please do. By the way, if the club has such a huge budget, does that mean the club members also get wages?”

“Of course not. The Exploration Club is basically a group of volunteers.”

“Eh~? Well, I already knew that, I guess. Still, if I make some kind of huge discovery as part of the Exploration Club, I won’t get a monetary bonus, then?”

“How greedy,” Touya sighed.

“If you discover something amazing, I’ll take you to a hot spring or anywhere else you want!” declared their advisor while puffing up proudly.

“Fuooo, a hot spring? Actually, isn’t there already a hot spring in the training area…?” Homura asked.

“As a matter of fact—”

“Oh my, can I have another cup of tea, Misasagi?”

The club advisor forcefully interrupted Misasagi-senpai’s words before she could say anything.

By the looks of it, this hot spring idea was something she’d done before in the past.

The two new club members made eye contact and mentally recorded to themselves: ‘Fujimori-sensei requires special attention when she hangs bait in front of our noses.’

“Senpai—no, president, you said that I’m a Beginner rank investigator, but what rank are you?”

“I’m a, 3rd rank, investigator.”

“Hoho, 3rd rank… how unexpectedly… low?”

“Hey,” Touya said with a glare.

“Sorry, that was rude of me. Umm, if I remember right, you said you were a 5th rank investigator, right?”

“That’s right. It’s the next rank up from Beginner rank.”

“Then that means… Beginner rank investigator is equivalent to 6th rank, huh? Hah, I have a long road ahead of me.”

Fujimori cut in after picking up a bisected piece of pie with a fork and swallowing it all in two mouthfuls.

“I’ll tell you guys this now, but rank is meaningless when on an expedition. It’s simply a t.i.tle decided by the nation.”

“Right.”

Misasagi nodded in agreement with the chiding Fujimori.

“Then it isn’t like how belt ranks are a.s.signed in kendo? If what matters isn’t one’s level as an investigator, then what does? Something like experience, trust, or safety first…?”

“Uwah,” Fujimori exclaimed as she bent back in her chair. “So weak. Why is it that those words sound so weak and shallow when they come out of Hinooka’s mouth?”

“Sorry for being shallow…”

“Ranks only designate the qualifications you possess. Look, it’s like how there are the Hundred Top Mountains of j.a.pan, but there are mountaineers who have climbed all of them once and mountaineers who have only climbed Mt. Fuji a hundred times. Can you say that either one of them is better than the other?”

“When you put it like that, it does seem like a tricky difference…”

Homura crossed her arms with a meek expression.

“But wouldn’t climbing Everest a hundred times surpa.s.s everything else…?”

“You really like getting the last word, don’t you?” Touya remarked, so amazed that, at this point, he could only admire her.

“Sorry…”

Homura drooped her head with reproachful eyes.

But then, Homura was given words of encouragement.

“…Curiosity is…”

When she lifted her head, Homura found herself meeting the eyes of Misasagi-senpai, who had leaned forward unexpectedly close to her.

“Curiosity is, something everyone, is born with…”

Without minding that her hair was brus.h.i.+ng against the pie on her plate, Misasagi spoke enthusiastically.

Fujimori also calmly gazed at her face from the side.

“Exploration, requires… a persistent, fighting spirit… so as to never, forget that…”

“…Fighting spirit?”

“Yes,” Misasagi said with a nod. “A heart that, never falters.”

Misasagi-senpai exuded an aura that was far removed from fighting spirit.

But it was precisely because she was like that that those words remained in Homura’s chest.

Just as he had declared, Touya ate two of the six slices of pie.

Just when Homura reached out to grab the one remaining slice left, Fujimori made a declaration in a formal tone.

“Now then.”

As Homura twitched with a start, Fujimori got up from her chair while looking at the clock.

“Let’s end the welcome party around here. Have you finished your preparations, everyone?”