NOVEL NEXT Book 2: Chapter 6: Part1
Another bonus chapter for this week, thanks to Patrons, enjoy~
Chapter 6 – Field Study
Part 1
The training with Luna was over, and it was the day of the field trip. I’ve never had the pleasure of participating in a school event like this before, so I was so excited like a child that I couldn’t get to sleep the night before. But I was able to get up in the morning as usual with no problems at all due to my improved body. What a convenient body…
Anyway, after preparing the necessary things and properly greeting Night, I left my house in high spirits.
“──Yes, it’s my win.”
“Goddamn it!”
And now we spent our time playing on the bus to the field trip location. I didn’t bring any cards or anything like that, but Akira, Rin and the others had prepared snacks as well as games for us so that we wouldn’t be bored.
Rather, since I didn’t bring any games or snacks, I feel very sorry for them…
“Why! Why can’t I win? Why do I always have the old maid at the end?”
“It’s because it’s so obvious on your face…”
“Akira-kun, you’re well-liked by the old maid!”
“I don’t like it!”
Just now, we were still playing old maid, but Akira kept losing in consecutive games.
”More importantly, Yuuya-kun, that’s amazing! You’ve come in first place every time…”
“That’s not true. It’s just all a fluke.”
And somehow I didn’t draw a single old maid, and I always drew a card that matched my hand, so it was over in an instant.
…Maybe, but I think it’s related to my luck status. Because every time I try to draw a card…
This card… no, wait. I’m not sure why, but I don’t think this card is good. On the contrary, there’s a good feeling coming from this card… and I think I’ll take this one.
And so I had a tremendous hunch and kept winning… yeah, it’s not fun. If that’s the case, then I guess I won’t be able to enjoy these games from now on. Being lucky is supposed to be a good thing, but I’m not very happy about it. Besides, sorry, I feel like I’m cheating… I wonder, if I play any games that involve luck, will they be like this from now on?
While feeling the unexpected negative effects, I suddenly remembered the fire at the department store the other day.
…Now, Kaede and the others are here laughing like this, but it was really dangerous at that time… I shudder to think if I hadn’t gotten any skills or anything else in another world. I’m delighted I was able to save them.
And so we headed off to the field trip in an amicable atmosphere──without knowing that it’s harder than we expected.
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“It’s big…”
The place they brought us to was like an inn on top of a mountain. I wonder if this is where we’re going to have our field trip? As I thought that, the homeroom teacher of each class called for a meeting.
“Hey, let’s gather here! I will explain everything to you. Oh, you should split up into groups!”
As we sat down in groups as instructed by the teacher, Sawada-sensei looked over at us and grinned.
“Now then… you guys are gonna have to do some survival.”
“Huh?” everyone screamed in a daze.
The teacher’s words drew everyone’s attention. Then one of the students immediately asked a question.
“W-what do you mean by survival? There’s a building that looks like an inn, and we’re going to stay there, right…?”
“What are you talking about? This inn is a facility for teachers to stay, you know?”
“Huh? T-then, what about us?”
“Of course, you’ll be outside.”
“No way!”
Sawada-sensei’s words left all the students speechless. A-are we really going into survival?
“I told you in school that this field trip is training for you to run for the elite path in the future, didn’t I? I’ll continue to explain. You guys will be given the bare minimum amount of supplies, and then you guys will spend two days and one night in an outdoor camp. As for your bath, there is a hot spring somewhere in the mountains on these grounds, so you can find it and use it. You can use the hot springs, so be thankful!”
“Eeeeehhhhhh!?” Everyone screamed at the unexpected development.
No, I’m pretty sure I heard it was some kind of camping thing, but I didn’t expect to sleep outside… I mean, The teacher said she’d only give us the bare essentials, but does that mean──.
There seemed to be some people who came up with the same conclusion as me and asked a question again.
“U-um! Could it be that the cooking is also…”
“Of course you’ll have to prepare your own food. You can use all the vegetation such as mushrooms and wild grasses that grow in this area.”
“No way!”
Seriously, they’re gonna make us do that? I mean, isn’t there a dangerous mushroom, too…?
”We’re being provided with the bare minimum amount of rice, and that’s all we will have. That’s not even enough to fill our stomachs.”
“No, I think it’s safer to put up with that for now…”
I thought the same thing, but that’s where the teacher turned serious.
“Unfortunately, it’s not just one competition, you know? It’s a class competition too.”
“C-class competition?”
Somehow the story has gotten bigger.
“As you may know, except for Tenjou, the “School Festival” held in the fall is a big event with lots of visitors. There, each class has its own stall… and the budget allocation is determined by this competition. In other words, if you have a good result in this survival, you’ll be one step ahead of the rest of the class, and make a gorgeous program at the school festival.”
S-so that’s how it works… but am I crazy to think it sounds interesting? It would have never happened at my previous high school, and no other high school would have had this format.
“And it would be related to a bonus for us teachers, too! Do your best as if you were going to die!”
“Isn’t that what you really want?” Everyone in the class complained.
No, wait, that determines even the teacher’s bonus? Anything is related now!
“B-but aren’t mushrooms dangerous? And the only things that can be found here are mushrooms and wild grasses… so how is the competition going to work?”
“Since there’s a river, you can catch any fish you want. You have to bring the collected things to the teacher, and we’ll sort them out and grade them. The class that collects the most non-dangerous ingredients and cooks the tastiest meal wins. By the way, you can’t go back to pick up the ingredient because we’ll only grade it once. Don’t cook and eat the food you’ve collected without showing it to the teacher, you hear me? And also, I won’t be responsible if you’re dead.”
It’s scary, right? Hey.
Everyone is determined, perhaps the teacher’s threats got through to them, or maybe they’re all in the mood to properly show the teacher what they’re made of. But, well, the teacher said she wouldn’t grade you otherwise.
” Well, if you happen to be poisoned, the school doctor, Dr.Yomikawa will treat you. I don’t know if that’s fine though…”
At the moment the teacher said that, a ghostly woman in a white coat suddenly appeared. She has beautiful black hair, but it was stretched forward long enough to hide her face, and only her left eye was peeking out through her hair.
“Hihihi… p-please don’t worry… w-with this medicine… h-hihihi…”
Can I really be relieved? Just look at the colour of the pills in her hand! It’s purple! Isn’t that a poison pill instead?
I don’t mean to criticize people’s names, but Yomikawa also means unfortunate. [T/n: 黄泉 = Yomi = Underground world/hades/hell, etc.]
It’s the first time I’ve seen the school’s doctor, and her personality is just too explosive. The other teachers are somehow also very quirky… no, it’s fine because their teaching style is very good and interesting.
When I was inwardly complaining about various things, Kaede taught me while trembling.
“A-anone… Yuuya-kun might not know this, but the infirmary where Dr.Yomikawa is located is always covered in darkness, and whenever you walk by, you can always hear someone screaming… so no one wants to get close, and no one gets a temporary medical treatment either…”
“What’s with that novelty infirmary.”
That’s awesome, right? But as a result, if the students are taking their classes seriously and taking care of themselves from illnesses and injuries, wouldn’t that be a good thing? I don’t know about the scream, though.
What Kaede said seems to be true, and as I look around, I see that every student is determined to show the teacher what they are going to do more than they did earlier. Yup, I guess it’s all right.
“Are you getting the gist of it? In the meantime, I’ll give you a picture book of wild vegetables and such, so do your best for my bonus. And secondly, it’s for the school festival too.”
“You should be the second!” Said everyone.
That’s exactly right. Aside from the teacher’s bonus, if we accumulate points by winning this competition, we can put on a spectacular display at the school festival, so let’s do our best.
We received the bare minimum amount of items from the teacher and gathered in groups once.
“Now… what should we do?”
“Don’t worry! I can do go fishing, gather mushrooms and other edible wild plants, and──.”
“Forgetting this idiot, don’t you think we should split up?”
“Split up?”
When Rin suggested that, she took out the illustration book and fishing rod.
“Yuuya and Kaede will go fishing, while this idiot and I go and collect mushrooms and other edible wild plants. That would be more efficient, right?”
“Yeah, certainly… I don’t mind.”
“Fishing, huh….I’m not sure I can handle it since I’ve never done it before.”
“I haven’t experienced it either, but I think I can handle it. Let’s just do our best!”
“Okaaayy!” Said Kaede and Rin in unison.
“Hello? Isn’t everyone cruel to me? Hey, are you listening to me?”
While only Akira is left behind, we decide on our future course of action and start assembling the tent first.