Chapter 75: Forestry School
As we passed through the school gate, where a different teacher was conducting a uniform check, unlike usual, several tour buses were lined up in front of the schoolyard.
Take care on the field trip, big brother!
Sure, I will. Yuika.
Make sure to eat well, Yui.
With the same orange hair as Sakamoto, his younger sister ran towards the middle school building.
Watching her leave, Kishimoto asked,
Your sister is pretty. How old is she?
Sakamoto, blushing a bit, replied with a smile,
Shes two years younger than me, and shes currently in her third year of middle school.
Yui is a sharp and decisive kid, unlike her lazy brother. She gets things done on her own.
Yaguchi said this, chuckled, then patted Sakamoto on the back.
Hey! Are you my mom or what?
Sakamoto grumbled with an annoyed expression.
While watching the childhood friends bicker, we soon arrived at the playground.
Satoru, who seemed to have been waiting, waved at us.
Hey! Over here!
Somehow, we all gathered on the subway, so we flocked towards him.
Since we were supposed to leave at 8:20, many students had already arrived and lined up.
In rare casual attire, the Class President, Satoru, and Sasha gathered together, completing Group D of Class 2-B.
Yu-seong, did you make sure to bring the things we bought yesterday?
Of course.
I nodded and shook the icebox slung over my shoulder.
Currently, my bag contains not only clothes and toiletries for the campsite but also various condiments.
But whats that on your back?
Hearing Satorus question, I turned my back to show him.
Its a wok from home. I brought it to make Chinese-style rice bowl.
Satoru furrowed his brows and muttered,
You look like a villain from a cooking manga carrying that.
Hearing that, Kishimoto chimed in,
Yeah, I get it. Like that manga with the dark cooking world and legendary cooking tools?
Kishimoto, youve read that too?
Yeah, I used to read it a lot when I was young.
Looking incredulously at the two people who were talking about someone in front of them as if they were a villain in a cooking manga, I decided to first put the icebox I had brought from home into the buss cargo hold.
It seemed like it would only be cumbersome to keep carrying it around.
Clunk!
After placing the icebox in the cargo hold and returning to my original spot, Matsuda, who usually wore sportswear but was now dressed in blue hiking clothes and fluorescent sunglasses, climbed onto the stage and shouted.
Alright! Quiet! Quiet! I know everyone is excited about the field school, but lets go and come back safely without any unnecessary accidents! Safety first and second! If anyone feels sick, contact a teacher immediately, and if theyre not around, use the emergency contact list and call any teacher! Buses will board in order of preparedness, so if you want to leave quickly, line up!
Even without a loudspeaker, Matsudas voice was clearly loud enough to pierce through, definitely having a powerful volume.
It seemed there was a reason he had been the grade head for three consecutive years.
Anyway, after one round of organizing and finishing the attendance check, we started boarding the tour buses in order.
Im excited since its my first time going on a school trip.
Sasha murmured this with an excited face.
Hearing that, I suddenly asked the question that came to my mind.
Dont you have school trips in Russia?
Sasha shook her head in response.
Its different if families or friends go, but schools dont organize it. There are many wild bears in Russia.
The reason was so realistically grounded that I quickly understood.
If students were to encounter bears while camping in the forest, it would surely cause chaos in the school.
It took about 1 to 1.5 hours by bus from Tokyo Minato-ku, where Ichijo Academy was located, to Chiba.
It was a long but short time, yet no one seemed sleepy, probably due to the anticipation for the field school.
The same was true for my group, Group D. Seated at the very back of the bus, we huddled together to play a werewolf game.
With a smaller number of participants, we limited ourselves to the basic roles of seer and hunter. Yet, everyones acting was so compelling that the game turned out to be more thrilling than I had anticipated.
An hour seemed to vanish as if by magic.
The most astonishing werewolf turned out to be our Class President, who masterfully controlled the atmosphere from beginning to end, eliminating all the citizens without so much as batting an eyelid, displaying an almost psychopathic level of detachment.
In any case, we arrived safely in Chiba.
One of Chibas most distinctive characteristics was that it was the only one among Japans 47 prefectures and regions that lacked mountains.
As a result, the campsite where we spent 2 nights and 3 days felt almost like a recreation forest, with the exception of a river that flowed behind it.
The river was useful for providing drinking water, but it was somewhat disappointing that, unlike typical mountainous areas, there were no valleys suitable for water activities.
Upon arriving at the campsite, we immediately began setting up the tents.
Typically, tents were provided by the campsite, so our task was simply to set them up.
Three boys shared a medium-sized tent, while four girls shared a larger one.
After swiftly erecting the two tents, we checked the time and realized it was already 12 oclock.
On the first day of field school, it was customary to eat lunch from packed boxes brought from home, so we gathered in our groups to eat.
Ah! Chili shrimp! How did you know I liked it?
You asked me to make it last time.
While engrossed in a Korean book, I handed my lunchbox to Satoru, who reached out with chopsticks and expressed his surprise.
Then Sasha, sitting next to me, showed interest and asked me a question.
Kim Yu-seong, I thought you only ate things like chicken breast since youre into exercising, but it seems you dont really restrict your diet.
I nodded, continuing to eat the fried rice I had prepared that morning.
A diet wouldnt be able to keep up with the calories I burn in a day. So, I eat as much as I want, whenever I want.
The reason I was fond of Chinese food was its frequent use of frying and grilling, which made the dishes high in calories.
Because I use a lot of stimulating spices, it is okay to use less salt and sugar.
Seeing Satoru eat with such enjoyment, Rika, with her chopsticks, paused at her mouth and asked if it had whetted her appetite.
Can I try one too?
Of course.
As I offered the lunch box, Rikas chopsticks deftly snatched a chili shrimp.
I felt the gaze of others, but since I had made plenty of chili shrimp to share, I placed the lunch box in the center of the mat.
Everyone, try one. Im quite proud of these.
The other four, pretending otherwise but clearly eager, each took a chili shrimp to taste.
How come theyre still so crispy even after some time since you made them?
Thats because I fried them in starch powder. Frying with starch powder helps them stay crisp for longer.
Really? I should try that sometime.
Yaguchi, who seemed intrigued about cooking, mumbled that as he analyzed the half-eaten chili shrimp.
Seeing the class representative, Sakamoto, and the Russian Sasha eating with relish, I felt rewarded for waking up early to prepare.
We finished our lunch in a cheerful atmosphere, sharing dishes from each others lunch boxes.
Outdoor schools were typically conducted under the guise of promoting students health, involving more physical activities than regular schools.
Had we gone to the mountains, we would have gone hiking, but this time, we went to the forests of Chiba and engaged in environmental clean-up instead.
Each group was given a trash bag, and we were instructed to pick up trash in the forest using tongs.
Thanks to that, before we even had time to digest our lunch, we roamed the forest, picking up trash and leaving the campsite behind.
Naturally, the students were not pleased about this.
Ah, damn. The teachers are probably lounging back at the lodgings.
As Satoru grumbled and picked up trash with tongs, the Class President, pushing up her slipping glasses, remarked,
Outdoor school activity is supposed to be like that. Im just glad were not hiking in this weather.
It would have been worse if we had to hike in this weather. Ah, theres trash over there, too.
After I used the tongs to grab a snack bag tangled in the bushes and placed it in the trash bag, Satoru, watching with a lack of enthusiasm, inquired,
Speaking of which, who was assigned the ghost role for todays courage test?
Hearing that, I quietly raised my right hand.
Im supposed to do it.
Unfortunately, my luck in drawing lots wasnt great.
Then Satoru, with a disgusted expression, commented,
You should never do ghost makeup. Someone might faint.
Alright, sure.
I wasnt sure why, but since there was nothing wrong with heeding Satorus advice, I agreed.
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