By Zephyria 
It hadn’t even been a month since Marianne and Glotin started dating, and I couldn’t understand why anyone would try to interfere. Seeing my surprise, Oliver shrugged with a smile, as if it were no big deal.
“…And Marianne told me not to bother Glotin. Wow, this is why one shouldn’t meddle in other people’s love lives.”
“Mm.”
“Well, that’s just what she said. They were eating lunch together today, but Marianne was the only one talking the whole time, so it was a bit… you know.”
“Glotin Tenner isn’t a bad guy, is he?”
“Uh-huh. That’s what I’m saying.”
“I understand.”
It took me a moment to catch up.
Honestly, when I sat with Marianne, it was hard for me to get a word in edgewise. Wasn’t she the type to talk for three hours straight even if I just nodded?
I thought it was pretty decent of someone to listen patiently to Marianne without brushing her off.
Unless there was a glaring flaw, it wasn’t my place to intervene.
Instead, I found myself worrying if Oliver Combine was acting strangely towards Marianne, but I soon figured that the bold and sharp Marianne would handle it herself.
I excused myself, saying I had an appointment.
When I told Benjamin and Shayden about it at the stable, Benjamin just nodded silently. Shayden, running a hand over his face, stifled a laugh and said it was fortunate Marianne wasn’t present today.
I felt the same way.
❖ ❖ ❖
Friday. The week felt like it was passing by too quickly. I decided to use my time more preciously.
Rubel, who arrived just as the introductory Swordsmanship class ended, asked if I had time this weekend.
I told him I couldn’t give him a definite answer because of the field trip for the Camping Class this week, and he looked visibly disappointed.
Without hiding my smile, I promised to go to the library on Sunday. Seeing his dejected face brighten, I gently patted his shoulder.
I wondered if I should help this guy find a good friend, but I had no idea who would be a good match.
After finishing lunch, I packed a lot of gear for the Camping Class.
The first campsite was in a plains area, so I didn’t need to pack too much. However, I remembered the children in my group chattering like sparrows, saying they needed this and that, so I couldn’t just pack lightly.
I first packed snacks to distribute to the children, and then separately got insect repellent in case they were startled by bugs.
Worried that some child might catch a cold from the night breeze, I packed blankets and Type 2 hand warmers.
The Artifact containing the warming and preservation Magic Formula was quite large, so I figured no one else would pack it but me.
When I arrived at the departure point, Ivan, who had brought lamb last time, was standing there holding a smoked pork hind leg as big as his own torso, and my jaw dropped.
Marianne, excited, clapped her hands loudly and praised Ivan’s preparedness.
“Totally! Ivan, who’s serious about food! That’s the attitude of a true intellectual! Wonderful! Amazing!”
“I brought it because we’re using a carriage for the journey.”
“How many kilograms is that? It looks enormous.”
“I heard it’s 7 kilograms.”
“Wow… Seriously, this is insane. This is camping. This is it.”
He looked like he was struggling to hold the well-wrapped leg. After a bit of back and forth, I ended up taking the pork hind leg.
I gripped the narrow part in one hand like a club.
The paper wrapping, well-oiled, had a large smiling pig face drawn on it, which I found quite amusing.
It certainly didn’t look like enough for five people.
Children from other groups glanced our way, but Ivan looked very calm. He showed no sign of embarrassment, so I assumed other groups brought similar amounts and decided not to worry about it.
As it turned out, my guess was correct, because before we departed, a few children from other groups came over and handed me bundles of food.
The bundles contained small cookies, caramels, and other sweet treats. I was delighted that they had specifically packed them for me and praised them heartily.
We traveled to the campsite together in the same carriage by group.
The carriage was large enough to comfortably seat six people. Thanks to that, we had plenty of space even after pushing the luggage, including the pork hind leg, into a corner.
Marianne sang songs in a cheerful voice the whole way, Jenny added embellishments to the songs with harmony, and Damian kept rhythm by tapping on the water bottle he brought.
With the chattering children, I felt as full and happy as if we were all going on a picnic.
The warm sunlight evenly covered the green, vast field.
The campsite Professor Cedric had carefully chosen was a very wide field.
People who raise sheep or cattle in vast lands would move their livestock to areas with more grass after a certain period, practicing pastoralism.
The grassland, after the livestock had grazed it once, was so vast that I had no idea where to go or what to do.
However, it seemed I was the only one flustered again.
The children, laughing excitedly, pointed in various directions, debating where to set up camp. Caught up in their fervor, I had to wander around looking for a flatter spot.
We had learned in class that it was best to be far from the water so that the sound of water wasn’t audible, the ground should be flat, and if the soil felt dry and brittle when touched, that was good, but it was even better if flat, hard stones or rocks were underneath.
There were several reasons to avoid water. First, it would be problematic if the water level rose due to sudden heavy rain or if water sprung up at the campsite. Also, one could be harmed by various animals attracted to the water source.
Furthermore, finding a hard surface was to prevent pests from emerging from the ground. It was said that countless insects lived in colonies beneath soft ground. One needed to carefully choose a campsite to avoid being bitten by insects that crawled out in search of food.
After wandering for a long time, I found a spot that looked quite decent and approached the children to talk to them, but Jenny shook her head resolutely.
“This place has too many rocks, no, Mikael. Even if we lay down sleeping bags, they might tear here.”
“Can’t we just move these aside? We could arrange them around the campfire when we light it.”
“Then what about that rock over there?”
“We can cut it.”
“Cut that? How?”
“…Like this?”
It wasn’t something that required much thought. Drawing my sword, I easily flattened the protruding part of the rock.
I couldn’t use Sword Energy yet, but by concentrating my aura for a moment, it wasn’t difficult to flatten soft rocks like this.
Seeing this, the children shouted loudly and applauded, and it was harder to stop them than to do the task itself.
Professor Cedric, drawn by the commotion, chuckled and nodded.
“See, if your body is strong, your brain doesn’t have to work so hard. Take inspiration from our Ernhardt’s group and let other groups properly utilize their swordsmen and wizards. I’ll overlook this little trick.”
“Ah, how can we possibly follow that?”
“If it doesn’t work, keep trying until it does. Don’t forget the basic spirit of alchemy.”
When children from other groups asked for help, I cut a few more rocks before returning to my spot.
Then, before sunset, I went to gather the necessary medicinal herbs according to Jenny’s instructions.
The grass with yellow, elongated leaves was Nacete Creeper, the mushroom with a small cap lying flat on the ground was Yulsum Mushroom, the flower blooming from a bush reaching knee-height was Mindollan Flower…
Chattering as I went, I searched the damp plains or rotten tree stumps, wandering across the wide, flat field as directed.
Last semester, I had gathered medicinal herbs in a greenhouse at the academy, so this was different. Trying to gather herbs that grew naturally made them hard to spot.
Even when I found them, I couldn’t always get the amount I wanted, which led to clashes with children from other groups.
“What do you mean, if you take it all, what are we supposed to do?”
“We discovered it first and started picking. You should find more elsewhere.”
“No, the marsh isn’t that wide… You know perfectly well that only one Mindollan Flower is needed per bottle, so how can we…”
“What is the matter?”
“Mikael!”
I went to investigate a commotion in one corner and found Jenny, looking wronged, calling my name loudly as soon as she saw me.
As I stepped closer to ask for details, a girl with braided hair quickly handed me a bunch of flowers she had been clutching resentfully moments before.
The tiny red flowers were clustered together and quite lovely.
“…Hm? Are you giving this to me?”
“Yes. Well, Young Master Ernhardt and the flowers suit each other so well.”
“Mm.”
Was the Mindollan Flower effective for abnormal bleeding?
I didn’t understand the meaning behind her words at all, but since Jenny nodded, I just nodded along.
For whatever reason, I handed the flower to Jenny, who was standing beside me.
The girl with braided hair hesitated for a moment, then offered Jenny an insincere apology before leaving.
I patted Jenny’s shoulder, still huffing, to comfort her, and she quickly brightened, replying that it was fine and she had forgotten all about it.
Thinking that perhaps this child was so compliant because of the halo attached to my name, I felt a pang of bitterness. I resolved to treat Jenny better.
After gathering all the medicinal herbs, we returned, and it was time for dinner. The setting sun cast a layered, reddish glow in the distance. Clouds of peculiar shapes bloomed like flowers, catching the red light.
Marianne lit the fire with magic on the newly purchased magic firewood.
She boasted that she had practiced fire and water magic particularly diligently to use them effectively during the Camping Class, and I praised her greatly.
Ivan and Damian took turns grilling the meat, and when I tried to help, they stopped me, so I sat quietly.
After all, what Ivan had brought this time was already smoked with spices.
I had never cooked before coming to Sierren, and in the Central Plains, I would have been satisfied just eating it raw.
I quietly watched the children grill the meat and prepare side dishes.