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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 88 Part 1

Myth Slayer

　The sizzling, scorching heat wave continues on.

Even though the summer vacation will soon be over, the relentlessly blazing summer sun is so irritating.

To be frank, it’s cooler inside the dungeon, and it can be said that we spent the latter half of our summer vacation in dungeon diving.

The destination stratums were the『Eternal Glacier』 on the dungeon twelfth stratum, and then the『Ether Sea』 on the dungeon seventeenth stratum.

The『Ether Sea』, which we were still in the process of conquering, was a perilous place with some pretty troublesome terrain characteristics.

If I have to put it in a single word, it was a submerged stratum.

It was a world of water where all the whole stratum was filled with breathable liquid.

When I heard about it, I honestly made light of it, thinking that if we could breathe, there should be no problem.

However, there was water resistance.

And then, there was also a buoyancy effect, so it was hard to stand firm.

When I mustered up a serious effort against a giant shark-like creature, my party members were somehow twitching, claiming that they were electrocuted, and scolded me afterwards.

The main members for conquering the seventeenth stratum, which seemed to have a bad affinity with me as such, were the Senpais of the Craftsman class who got into the『Armed Golem』 boarding mode.

When the rear armor opened up with a psssh, there was a cockpit space for the person in question to enter.

I had heard that such a thing was possible, but I had never actually seen it before.

The cockpit, which was of a half-fleshy design, looked a bit lewd.

The Armed Golems, which specialized more in power than speed and were heavy objects from the beginning, didn’t have a change in their movements even in the submerged stratum.

On the left arm, there was the streamlined shield designed for underwater battle specifications.

On the right arm, they were equipped with a weapon modified from the magic harpoon we had acquired during the Moby Dick Battle to look like a spear gun.

Just like the gimmick of『Gaki Lord War Casket (Over-Greed Gear)』, it was a kind of pile bunker-like harpoon shooting machine.

Although the battle was rendered to an interception style, they exhibited a pretty stable strength.

Above all, the Senpais who showcased their swimsuits instead of cockpit suits were so pretty.

Well, since the seventeenth stratum is akin to swimming with clothes on, it seems that wearing swimsuits is a common practice for other conquering students as well.

It seems that the purchasing department also sells full-fledged wetsuits, but it appears that no one buys them.

I guess it could be said that the laid-back conquest that prioritized safety margins also doubly served as a vacation.

By the time we broke through the『Ether Sea』, the summer vacation had come to an end.

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「No~. I don’t want to go to school~. I want to just laze around and sleep in the dorm~.」

「What are you, a spoiled child?」

Seiichi, who is dragging the shrinking and rampaging Mai, lets out a sigh.

Although the month has changed to September, the sultry nights and the midsummer days are still going strong.

The temperature is so hot that even early in the morning, just by rampaging about, you will be drenched in sweat.

「Mai-chan is a child who refuses to go to school.」

「But I understand how she feels~. It’s such a drag~.」

「It’s so hot….」

「Haa, it was a summer vacation where all I wanted to do was laze around in front of the icicles placed in the club room while eating shaved ice….」

The newly joining club member quartet, Mirin, Shinobu, Nodoka, and Serie, are bustling about.

Somehow, it feels like they’ve ended up fitting in with the Adept Orders in no time at all.

The quartet are the kind who would obediently adore and call them senpai senpai, so they have also been smoothly accepted by the Senpai sirs, who are mostly of the shy type.

Well, all four of them live in different dormitories, so they commute except when they come to stay over.

「Like I told you, there are no more available rooms, duh. For better or worse, there is a limit to the number of people a dorm can accommodate, after all.」

Shizuka, with a composed look, quietly adds to the yawning Otoha-senpai.

「It’s quite like that only half is occupied, though.」

「Ah… Yes, somehow, a guesthouse of some sort has been built before you know it, right?」

Mikan-senpai and the others respond with a thumbs up as Otoha-senpai gives them a stare.

Adjacent to the newly added second open air bath, a separate wooden structure had been built.

At the beginning, it seemed to be designed as some sort of place to cool off after taking a bath, but under the requests from Asagi dorm residents, a somewhat bar-like coffee corner was incorporated, a tatami space for lounging was established, a banquet hall-like second floor was added, and eventually, dormitory facilities that allowed one to sleep over wound up being arranged.

Nowadays, the figures of dorm residents lazing around like seals in slovenly appearance, with a cold bubbly drink in one hand right after taking a bath, are being mass produced.

「A post-workout drink is a boost for tomorrow!」

「Saki-chan is a heavy drinker.」

「Saki-chan is a drunkard.」

In Saki’s case, she ends up drinking the entire bottle without even a change in her complexion.

She is probably the heaviest drinker in Asagi-sou.

Miharu and Natsumi, who were smashed as they were made to keep her company, are staring at her with reproachful eyes.

Recently, perhaps no longer able to grab some drinking buddies, she has been having a drinking party with yokai-like guys that before I know it have been frequently appearing in the dormitory.

The hot spring, where there’s a konnyaku-like creature, dead drunk and turning somewhat pink in color, floating in the water, allows you to enjoy an oden pot-like feeling.

However, now that I’m walking along the school route with everyone in the club like this, I can’t help but realize that Adept Orders has become such a large family.

Currently, the rank of the club is『C』, which means that of the maximum quota of 25, 24 have been occupied.

The clubs that are referred to as the so-called centerpieces start at rank『B』, so I’d like to aim for a higher rank in the next interclub tournament.

The next tournament will be held next month in October.

We ought to temper ourselves thoroughly in the dungeon without letting our guard down.

「Come now, Touma-san. Let’s go.」

As I stop on my tracks and look up at the sky, Shizuka takes my hand.

I’m not shrinking away, so it’s okay.

◇ ◇ ◇

　At Toyoashihara Academy, the majority of school events were held separately between the supreme department and the regular department.

It was the same for the opening ceremony.

However, the listless mood after a long vacation was the same for both departments.

Though, when it came to the students of the supreme department, voluntary supplementary lessons were carried out even during the summer vacation.

Many of them were among the elite who would lead Japan in the next generation.

Rather than conquering the dungeon, on the contrary, pursuit of knowledge was more important for them.

However, in order to reach their goals efficiently, striving in dungeon attack to raise their own level was by no means unrelated.

Improvement of physical ability.

It was not limited to the strengthening of physical strength alone, but also encompassed mental capacity, intellect, and intuition.

Of course, even if their abilities improved, their grades would not go up without going through the process of study.

However, from an ordinary person’s point of view, it was truly a cheat, as their basic capacity, which served as the foundation, would differ from that of an ordinary person.

The situation was also the same for the students of the regular department, but they were under the management of a curriculum that was deliberately set to not allow them to utilize their knowledge.

It was a kind of policy of keeping the people ignorant and easily subjugated.

Foolish masses deprived of ability to think and knowledge were easier to control.

The so-called『3S policy』 which took away one’s ability to think by letting them immerse themselves in sports + screen + sex entertainment.

Or the『Bread and Circuses』, where it was said that you could tame the masses by giving them food and entertainment.

People whose necessities of life were fulfilled would cease to let their thoughts work more than necessary.

As far as the academy, which was as such, was concerned, it was one of the entertainment events they offered to their students.

The time for the school festival was drawing near.

◇ ◇ ◇

「The next item on the agenda will be the Toyoashihara School Festival, the『Takamagahara (the abode of the heavenly gods) Reitaisai (Spirits Grand Festival)』, which will be held at the end of September—」

The student council room after school.

A regular meeting was held in a hotel-like room in the supreme department building.

At Toyoashihara Academy, those who were involved with the student council as well as the organizational management of the academy were limited to the supreme department students only.

Naturally, the members of the student council also consisted of students from the supreme department.

The student council president was Tetsuro, a second year『Divine Authority (Divine Breath)』.

The vice presidents were Reiji, a third year『Punisher』, as well as Kouji, a fourth year『Rampart Knight (Fortress Lord)』.

With the addition of Kaori, a first year『Shogun』, who served as the secretary, and Reika, a third year『Steel Fist Woman (Iron Maiden)』, who was in charge of general affairs, they made up the line-up of the student council members.

Even setting aside the background of social status brought in from outside the academy, the tendency for those with ability to stand at the top of the organization was firmly rooted.

With the exception of the first year Kaori, they were all top-ranked powerhouses in the supreme department.

「That would be the end of it. Lastly, for the selection of the members of the school festival executive committee….」

Reika, who carried out the compiling of the meeting materials and acted as the chairperson for the progression of the meeting, turned her gaze to the student council president.

「It would be entrusted to Tetsurou-sama, the president, but would there be any objection?」

This was another promise in the name of custom.

There was no way for there to be objections, and the president’s will would take precedence.

Tetsurou, who had retained his silence since the beginning of the meeting, leaning back against the backrest, opened his mouth.

「… I appoint the vice president as the executive committee chairman, and all authority shall be delegated to him.」

The track record of organizing an event of the academy, whose many of its alumni were engaging in the business and political worlds, and making it a success would directly affect their valuation after graduation as well.

The connections of the students enrolled in the supreme department had such a meaning attached to them.

In fact, in the student council thus far, the seats on the event executive committee had been something to scramble for.

Selling favors and buttering up.

The bargaining power, including bribes and even threats, as well as the charisma and capacity to put together the organization.

These were exactly the kind of negotiation abilities that would be required even after graduation.

「Oioi. Just because it’s a hassle, you can’t just toss it all onto someone else, can you?」

One of the vice presidents, Kouji, who had also been silent, let out a sigh of exasperation.

He had been crossing his arms and closing his eyes, listening to the meeting as if he wasn’t interested, but in fact, he truly wasn’t interested at all.

「Moreover, look… I’m not good at such things. You’re aware of that, no?」

In a way, it was an arrogance that left no room for conceitedness.

Like the president, it also meant that he had enough backbone to be allowed to act as such.

From the point of view of those who wished to be a part of their cronies, flourishing and earning without having to work, both of them were mikoshi (portable shrines) that were difficult to deal with.

At best, acting as foxes who borrowed the authority of the tiger, using the『Faction』 to their advantage, was the most that they could do.

In the sense of being difficult to deal with, Reiji, the former president and the current other vice president, was no different.

Especially for his cronies, who alienated themselves as soon as they deemed him to be on the decline, he was not a person who could be buttered up easily.

「How about understanding your position a little better, both of you? As officers of the student council, who ought to act as the role models for the students, I guess I can’t help but say that that is one disgraceful mental attitude.」

Reiji, tapping on the desk with his fingertip irritably, raised his eyebrows.

There was no way for him to notice Reika, who remained showing an expressionless face, but was inwardly on edge, as she was watching over the scene.

「Reiji-sama. Aren’t you going too far with your words toward Tetsurou-sama?」

Kaori, who blatantly showed a dissatisfied expression on her face, turned to defend her fiancée, the president.

「Now, now, it’s not a matter worthy of butting your heads like that. There are two vice presidents here. If I can’t do it, can’t we just have Reiji do it?」

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