Chapter 53

"Survival School will be conducted in a survival format. Attacks between students are prohibited. Night activities are also prohibited. You will camp at designated camping points in groups for a week, and during the day, you will explore the field in pairs to find treasures and earn points!"

Ms. Mayuzumi recited the precautions as they appeared in the anime.

The treasures are just glass marbles hidden in the field.

The more difficult the location to find the treasure, the higher the score.

"If there's an emergency, I'll send a message to your Hunter Watches, so don't worry. If any unexpected situations arise, you must contact me, students! On the last night, everyone must participate in the courage training! Now, let's start Survival School!"

Ms. Mayuzumi waved her hand.

At that moment, a message arrived on the Hunter Watches.

It was the coordinates of the camping point for my group.

The holographic map on the Hunter Watch unfolded.

The area is vast, but the space for Survival School is limited.

The received coordinates sparkled on the holographic map.

'The same point as in the original work.'

It matches the point where the protagonist and Shinazaki Rin camped in the setting book.

I was honestly worried since the camping points were supposed to be assigned randomly, but it's the same place as in the original.

'This time, I got lucky again.'

It's a stroke of luck in an otherwise unfortunate situation.

I turned off the map and sent a message to my group members.

It was time to start setting up the campsite.

*

The location of the camping point assigned to my group was quite good.

Just a little way out, there's a stream, and there's a forest with plenty of wood for firewood.

With the sunny weather, clear sky, and the pleasant breeze from the forest, I sat on a tree stump and supervised the tent setup.

"Hey, Kurose, are you setting up the poles straight?"

"Sorry, Kim."

"Ishihara, assemble the frame properly."

"Got it, sir!"

The tent assigned by the school is a 24-person tent, the kind you only see in winter training.

We're in groups of six, and I wondered if such a large tent was necessary, but since I don't have to do any work, I decided not to worry about it.

The protagonist and Ishihara grunted as they assembled the tent.

'This reminds me of the old days.'

Watching the two men struggle with the labor brought back memories of my military service.

During winter training. It was already cold, and setting up the tent made my hands and feet freeze.

'What a hellish place, just like the military.'

It's not a good memory.

If there's one thing that was the worst in the military, it was the guerrilla training and the self-strengthening of the two rivers in winter.

After all that hard work, the 24-person tent was so cold that even with hot packs all over the sleeping bag, I almost froze to death.

I only realized then that sleeping in the cold can make your mouth twist.

It's only May, so it shouldn't be that cold here, right?

Clank, clank.

Ishihara and Yooji assembled the tent frame and covered it with the tent fabric.

"When are they going to finish this?"

Their fumbling was frustrating.

I turned my gaze to the adjacent clearing, leaving Ishihara and Yooji to struggle with the tent.

In the clearing, where trees had been cut down for expansion, Nishizawa, Rin, and Olivia were cooking.

Whoosh.

The wood cut for firewood burned in the stove.

The idea was to have a cooking competition to decide who would be in charge of the meals during Survival School, but I wondered if it was really necessary to have such a grand cooking competition just to decide who would cook.

But since they wanted to do it, I let them.

I don't cook, so it's fine. I got tired of being in charge of meals during my freshman year at university during the MT.

"Watch this. I'll make the best dish!"

Rin muttered as she sliced the bright red kimchi on the cutting board with a kitchen knife.

Despite being described in the setting book as the worst cook, she had an unwarranted confidence that reached the sky.

Wait, kimchi?

What is she planning to do with so much kimchi?

I'm a bit worried.

'In the original work, the dishes Rin made by hand were treated as inedible.'

Excluding the bento she brought to the cherry blossom festival, which was probably not entirely her own work.

In the second volume of the original work, during the Survival School episode, Rin volunteered to cook, and what she made was called "poisonous food."

In the anime, it was depicted as a green and purple object.

'I'm worried.'

But come on.

This is reality, not an anime. It can't taste that bad, right?

That's an exaggeration, an exaggeration.

"I, Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte, swear on my honor that I will be the winner of this cooking competition! Both of you, prepare to beg at my feet!"

Olivia, wearing an apron confidently, placed her hand on her chest and smiled triumphantly.

Thud.

She cut the ribs with a kitchen knife.

I don't know what she's cooking, but from what I know, Olivia's cooking skills are at the level of following a recipe.

She won't make inedible food like Rin, so I can relax.

"Lady Princess, and you, cow. I hope you'll be surprised by the taste of the food I, Eri, make. I'll take responsibility for the master's meals!"

Nishizawa Eri said while peeling potatoes with a knife.

Nishizawa Eri is the heroine with the best cooking skills in the setting.

She grew up in a single-parent family and took charge of all household chores, including cooking, in place of her working mother from a young age.

I wish Eri would stop calling me "master" and stop acting so annoying.

"We'll see. Ironing board."

"I'll prove that the power of femininity is not proportional to the size of one's chest. Stupid cow, don't cry later."

"Stop fighting over chest size."

Ironing board, cow.

Even though this is a light novel world where everything is decided by chest size, the low-level bickering is painful to listen to.

"Got it! Master. Master, you're a kind man who doesn't care about the size of a woman's chest! I'm happy, Eri."

"Keh."

Nishizawa Eri misunderstood, and Rin bit her lip.

Why are they like this?

"Even if you interpret his words as you please, such vulgar fighting is not a good sight. I'm warning you as his exclusive maid! Do you understand?"

Olivia, with her left hand on her waist and a ladle in her right hand, scolded Rin and Nishizawa.

Nice. Well done, tsundere.

It's a relief to hear her say what I couldn't say out of embarrassment.

Is this like a refreshing drink?

The term "exclusive maid" is something I'm used to hearing now.

I can handle this.

There's no one around, so there's no need to feel embarrassed.

"Keh."

"Che."

Nishizawa stuck out her tongue, and Rin bit her lip.

The women fell silent again.

I'm glad I made Olivia my subordinate back then.

"Ugh, this is really hard."

"This is part of the experience. Ishihara, I heard that in the Gate field, if the mission drags on, they often set up tents and camp like this."

The two men were having fun setting up the tent.

I'm doing nothing.

I'm very satisfied.

It would be great if Survival School could continue like this.

'Really, that's not possible.'

Thinking about the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons and the "Cult" that will be involved.

On the last day, I'll have to run around no matter what.

I whistled.

Time flies when you're slacking off.

It was already evening, with the sunset setting in.

When Ishihara and Yooji Kurose finally finished setting up the tent after struggling with it,

The three women's cooking was also complete.

"Let's go!"

Ishihara and Yooji Kurose assembled and installed a picnic table.

With a parasol in the middle of the table, it had a proper picnic atmosphere.

This was also provided by the school.

'It's just a picnic, a picnic.'

What survival?

I sat at the picnic table, clicking my tongue.

The lighting near the tent shone brightly.

"Ugh, I'm hungry. Is the food ready yet?"

"I'm looking forward to the dinner everyone made with care. How about you, Kim?"

Ishihara and Kurose, sitting on either side of me, asked.

"Anything is fine, as long as we can eat quickly."

My stomach is honest.

It's already rumbling even though I haven't done anything.

There were already six bowls of white rice on the table.

"Then I'll go first!"

Olivia, the first batter, opened the lid of the pot she placed on the table with a confident smile.

In the large pot, there was a savory rib stew and a decent-looking mixed vegetable dish.

Clap.

Olivia placed her hand on her chest and declared confidently.

"Rib stew and mixed vegetable dish are the essence of Korean cuisine! I, I didn't choose this menu specifically for you... Ugh..."

Olivia blushed and looked at me.

"So, consider it an honor and eat it with gratitude! Do you