By Zephyria 
After submitting the assignment for Camping Class, I lived as if I had forgotten time.
Martial arts training in the Central Plains was a process of diligently honing and refining oneself over a long period, so there were many instances of repeating the same actions with unwavering dedication. Even after strenuous physical exertion all day, my mind remained clear and tranquil when nothing special was happening.
However, now that I was diligently practicing alone every morning, not skipping my Circulating Qi exercises, fully immersing myself in the daily classes, and simultaneously tackling exam studies and assignments while also tending to the horses, I found myself forgetting or missing things more often than not. My mind was in a haze.
Had I ever lived this breathlessly before?
I tried to save time by eating simple sandwiches for meals, but my friends scolded me. Yet, their situations weren’t much different. Shayden, in particular, who was taking an unusually large number of business and academic classes, complained daily about having so many subjects to memorize.
Amidst it all, when I saw Danbi and his girlfriend strolling through the campus whispering sweet nothings, I let out a sigh of envy, wondering how those two had so much time on their hands.
Marianne looked at them with the same envious eyes.
Like she always did during previous exam periods, the girl with hollowed-out eyes slumped over her desk, half in tears, groaning.
“Huuuugh… I miss Glee Oppa…”
“Then why don’t you go see him?”
“I can’t go looking like this…”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m ugly…”
“No, you don’t look much different from usual.”
“At times like these, please tell me I’m pretty as usual, Mikael.”
“You are pretty as usual.”
“Really… I’m so miserable…”
Amused and finding her whining cute, I indulged her by adding a word or two, even though I knew she wouldn’t listen, and then returned to my studies.
The midterm exams this semester were not much different from the first semester’s. Most professors would announce the exam scope in the first week, take the second week off, and hold the exams in the third week. The following fourth week was for checking exam results, correcting grade errors, and reviewing the problems and solutions.
However, Camping Class was different, with camping trips scheduled for the second week of every month.
The students, worn out from studying for exams, left for their trips not with food, but with meticulously organized notes packed tightly into their camping bags, unlike last month.
I did the same, as it was customary to study even during travel time.
This time, the camping site was fortunately near a swamp. Perhaps because it was a place for students, the swamp itself was not large or dangerous.
We quickly gathered the herbs clustered in the shallow swamp, warmed up the packed lunches we brought, and studied together, lying on our stomachs on a wide clearing.
Most of the children from other groups were in a similar situation.
I turned the pages of my book, listening to the hushed voices of a few students from the same class engaged in Q&A. The children’s voices echoed through the dense canopy of branches that obscured the sky.
On the way back, we didn’t walk in our assigned groups but gathered with students taking the same subjects.
I walked with Damian, Shayden, and a few students I only vaguely recognized from the Artifact class. Listening carefully to the questions and answers related to our exams, the journey back to the academy felt remarkably short.
Compared to my friends, I was relatively at ease.
All my morning classes were Maelo Sanson’s, so I didn’t have a separate exam for them, and my time with Douglas Mustang also didn’t involve exams. The Camping Class was replaced by a report, and the Imperial Genealogy class only required the usual light quizzes.
Only three subjects—magical equipment Artifacts, eulogy for famous horses, and Practical Sword Arts—had midterm exams, and Practical Sword Arts only required a practical test of hitting a 10-meter target.
Seeing the students gradually growing weary, I felt fortunate to have had such good luck this semester.
I firmly resolved to prioritize taking subjects that don’t require exams next semester.
❖ ❖ ❖
The midterm exams were successfully completed.
Damian was excited, saying he thought he’d come in first in the Law department, and Jenny was also beaming, having received a decent report card. Shayden and Benjamin also wore smiles that didn’t need to boast about their results.
Pausing our potion-making, we put our heads together to brainstorm autumn delicacies.
Autumn.
While autumn is commonly known as a season of abundant food, I had never truly experienced it.
When I was in the Central Plains, regardless of the season, I ate noodles with dumplings when visiting villages, or survived on dried meat and grain cakes when I didn’t have the luxury.
Occasionally, when I visited Anhui, I received meals with various side dishes at my family home. However, since I didn’t stay at the Noble Family estate at the same time each year, it was difficult to discern the seasonality of the food.
Since being reborn as Sierren, I could taste fresh vegetables and fragrant fruits even in the dead of winter.
These were crops grown in magical greenhouses, not in open fields. If I wanted strawberry tarts in the summer, I had them, and if I craved shaved ice with watermelon in the winter, I could find it.
I wasn’t the one cooking, nor did I ever inquire about the price of food, so it was natural that I didn’t know.
Familiar and unfamiliar ingredients passed through the children’s lips. They made a fuss about roasting sweet potatoes and chestnuts, then whispered about needing to eat figs and buying apples, all of which was endearing.
After chattering for a while, the children turned to me, who had been silent, and asked if I would go to the night market with them after class. I nodded in agreement.
Last semester, they would have excitedly called everyone over to see anything new and strange. Having grown for a semester, the children now had their own ways of distinguishing good from bad and chose items with narrowed eyes.
I let the children choose and purchase the food, following behind them and accepting the heavy bags one by one.
Even though I knew the children were spending generously, buying far more than they could eat, I didn’t try to stop them.
I knew they would end up eating it all after roasting it, perhaps claiming they’d share it with their classmates.
First, we visited the grocery store and bought everything that had been discussed during class.
They voiced their desire to make up for not being able to properly enjoy themselves at the camping site during the exam period, and I didn’t stop their enthusiastic voices.
A sack of sweet potatoes, a sack of chestnuts. I carefully selected a basket of beautiful, fine apples. As I picked up the heavy items, Shayden insisted on carrying a sack too, so I handed him the basket of apples.
Next, we went to the fabric store.
They spent a lot of time choosing cloaks to match, saying it would get chilly soon and they needed something warm to wrap themselves in for the camping trip in the forest next month.
To me, this and that looked much the same, but their prolonged discussion between dark blue and dark yellow was bewildering.
Jenny and Marianne, as well as Damian and Shayden, had a good eye for choosing clothes, so I stood alone, killing time.
Perhaps seeing me looking lost, Damian pulled me over and asked, “Mikael, what do you think? Between these, these, and these.”
“…What’s the difference?”
“This one is a bit thicker, this one has a tighter weave, and this one would suit everyone’s complexion.”
“…This one?”
“Why?”
“Because it seems the lightest of the bunch.”
“Wow, I was about to be disappointed, thinking you’d picked randomly.”
“Right? Weight is important, weight. Shall we buy this one?”
“Yay!” The children picked up and put down the cloaks, weighing them.
They were children with poor stamina. At night, they would be in sleeping bags with warming magic, so if they got too hot and had to carry them, lighter ones would be better. My reasoning resonated with them, and they all agreed, which pleased me.
As we walked to buy the necessary Artifacts, each holding a cloak, Marianne suddenly exclaimed, “Oh!” and stopped in her tracks.
Seeing Marianne’s face light up as if a lamp had been lit, I also looked into the distance.
Even from afar, her bright mint-colored hair was noticeable. It was Glotin Tenner.
Marianne ran towards him without hesitation.
Her skirt fluttered like a flower at her ankles as she ran. The boy, recognizing her, widened his eyes in surprise, then hesitantly opened his arms.
Marianne’s embrace was so sudden that the boy staggered, but Glotin’s companions supported his back, preventing him from falling.
We, the students from the same Camping Class, exchanged glances and headed towards them. Marianne’s excited chatter, unable to contain her joy, could be heard clearly.
“How did you get here! I should have contacted you if I knew you were coming!”
“I heard you were meeting friends after exams, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“Ugh, it feels like it’s been so long… I’m so happy…”
“Who was it that said they couldn’t meet because they had to study?”
“Was that me?”
“Yes, Young Lady Philodendor. It was you.”
Even though the words exchanged didn’t carry deep meaning, they were sweet. It was clear they were close.
Each time the young man with the bright, shining hair responded in his quiet voice, Marianne would laugh gleefully, unable to contain herself. Her laughter sounded like the popping of flower buds or the gentle flow of a mountain stream.
Seeing Glotin Tenner help Marianne, who had been in his arms, stand upright and then step back half a pace, I nodded in satisfaction at his upright demeanor and considerate heart. Shayden’s laughter briefly brushed past my ears.
“Can’t you see me?”
“Oh, Combine-senpai, you were here too. I had no idea.”
“What?”
Watching Marianne and Oliver bicker, I stood closer to them.
Only then did Marianne exclaim, “Ah!” and take the time to introduce her friends to her lover. Her cheeks were flushed red, but it was unclear whether it was from joy or embarrassment.