Chapter 7. Field Trip on a Clear Day (2)

Ha… why does the universe keep putting me through this kind of trial?”

“A trial…”

“What’s the matter? You don’t like your group? Just so you know, the teams were assigned personally by the headmaster. So if you’ve got a complaint, go take it up with him.”

The headmaster, always so cheerful and full of hearty laughs, just handed me a steaming pile of misery. Ugh, this is too cruel! He did this on purpose, didn’t he? Of all people, how did I end up in the same group as Seria, the one person I was hoping to avoid?

As I stood there frozen with a grim expression, the school nurse let out a hearty laugh and slapped me on the back.

“Don’t worry. Even if you don’t like your team, you’ve got me, your trusty professor!”

“That’s exactly why I’m more depressed!”

I buried my face in my hands and yelled.

He muttered, “You’re so mean,” but I happily ignored him.

Waaah, I don’t want to go on this field trip anymore!

“We’ll be departing shortly, so everyone, please gather with your assigned teams,” came the booming voice of the crown prince from the stage.

Looks like he’s in charge of managing the entire field trip again this time. Gosh, that guy really has it rough. Poor thing.

“Huff, huff… I’m not late, right? I brought Seria!”

While I was busy pitying the crown prince, Alec returned—dragging Seria along.

Sob… who’s pitying who now?! I’m the one who’s going to be mentally and emotionally destroyed over the next three days!

“Hello, professor.”

“Oh, hello.”

Seria greeted the school nurse politely, then immediately rushed over to chat with Huan.

Huan… his face already didn’t look great, but now it looked even worse.

I, too, stared at Seria in stunned disbelief, trying to accept this absurd reality.

Then the nurse leaned over and whispered in my ear.

“That’s the famous Seria, isn’t it?”

“Haha, yes.”

The professor also seemed interested in Seria, staring at her openly. As expected of the ever-popular girl, I thought, when he leaned in again and whispered by my ear.

“But you’re prettier.”

“Flattery won’t improve my mood.”

“Oh no, even compliments don’t work on you?”

He was still trying to cheer me up. Not that he needed to, but it was unexpectedly nice to see how much he cared for his students.

“Everyone, move into the magic circle.”

At the crown prince’s command, the students stepped onto the pre-drawn magic circles. All the academy’s magic professors and the mages from the tower began chanting incantations. Surprisingly, Aren was among them—but no one seemed to question it.

“If you have fun on a sunny day like today, your mood will lift too.”

“Thank you for the encouragement.”

Right, instead of staying sulky, it was better to enjoy the field trip and forget everything for a while. I glanced at Seria one last time and decided not to pay her any more attention. She had been unusually well-behaved lately. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t cause any trouble this time.

Don’t be anxious, I told myself.

The magic circles began to glow in a dazzling array of colors. Even the swordsmanship students, not just those in the magic department, were in awe of the large-scale spell. It was probably teleportation—but could it really handle this many people at once?

“Waaah!”

Despite my worries, we arrived safely at the entrance of the Dedelia Forest, with nothing more than a startled yelp from Alec. Wow—my head was spinning a little, but this was kind of fun.

“I think I’m gonna puke…”

Alec was clutching a tree for support, his hand clamped over his mouth. I looked around slowly and realized we’d landed near the forest’s entrance. It was my first field trip, and the excitement started to lift my gloomy mood just a bit.

“Wow, the weather’s really—”

Whoooosh.

Just as I was beginning to feel better, dark clouds gathered out of nowhere in the previously clear sky. Then, the rain came pouring down—and with it, my mood sank like a rock.

Wow, it’s actually raining…

“You said the weather would be nice today?”

“…The forecast can’t always be right, you know?”

The school nurse averted his eyes. Fine. It could rain. I’d just have to cheer up again and—

“Blegh!”

“Alec threw up!”

And just like that, my mood crashed to rock bottom alongside Alec’s breakfast.

It was only the first day of the field trip, and I already felt incredibly uneasy.

…I kind of wanted to go home.

***

The steady, drizzling rain only amplified the gloom. To think a downpour would hit the Dedelia Forest— even the professors were visibly troubled, some holding their heads in their hands. In the end, the forest exploration was postponed until tomorrow.

It must have been a unanimous decision to head to the Magic Tower first, because the professors began gathering the students in the center. The professors and mages chanting the transport spell all looked extremely worn out, which made me uneasy.

“Shall I help support you?”

Only Aren, smiling gently, had enough composure to show concern for the magic professor, who was drenched in cold sweat. As expected, he was amazing. Did he have unlimited mana or something? It was definitely something worth investigating.

“One, two, three!”

When the oldest, white-haired professor loudly counted to three, the magic circle began to glow. This time, a red-tinged golden light burst out, and in the blink of an eye, we were teleported to an area near the towering Magic Tower.

“Huff… I haven’t used this much mana in so long, I feel like I’m going to die…”

And just like that, the magic professor collapsed where he stood.

The school nurse quickly rushed over to check on him. Thankfully, it was just mana exhaustion—he had only fainted. With a pale, unconscious professor slung onto his back, the school nurse briskly headed toward the tower.

“Everyone, please hurry and head inside the Magic Tower.”

Soaked from the rain, the students began trudging toward the tower, each of them grumbling and complaining under their breath.”

“I didn’t expect it to rain.”

“Yeah, same here.”

Huan, who had come up beside me at some point, shook out his hair and spoke. Even in this dreary weather, his bright orange hair gleamed beautifully. I was staring blankly at the droplets clinging to the ends of his hair when I felt a strange sensation and glanced around.

“Come to think of it, where’s Alec?”

Seria wasn’t in sight either, but since I had no interest in where she was, I focused on finding Alec, whose absentmindedness made him more concerning.

“Seria, are you okay?”

“Yes, it’s just… I’m scared of thunder and lightning…”

As expected, Alec was stuck right beside Seria like a barnacle. That clingy guy. I gave an invisible round of applause for Alec’s relentless persistence.

‘But what’s with Seria…?’

Something seemed off about her. She was totally fine when the thunder first struck, but now in Alec’s arms, she was clutching her chest as if truly frightened. I wondered if she was acting again, but I couldn’t say for sure from this distance.

“What are you doing? They said to head to the rooms.”

“Yeah, okay.”

With the gloomy atmosphere and this messy start, the whole trip was already feeling uneasy. A sense of foreboding wrapped around me like a chill.

Ugh, what could possibly go wrong?

Shaking off the creeping anxiety, I made my way toward my assigned room.

“Due to the sudden bad weather, the field trip’s first day was changed to a visit to the Magic Tower. Students were instructed to change out of their wet clothes or take a quick shower if they wished in their assigned rooms. After some time, everyone gathered on the first floor of the tower. Following a brief safety announcement, the tower’s mages began guiding the students through a tour of the building.

“Over here is where the mages of the tower do their work…”

The explanation was quite dull, so I let out a big yawn and quietly slipped out of the room. After stepping away to a more secluded area and doing some light stretching, a long, fair hand with delicate fingers poked my cheek.

“Radel.”

“Wha—D-Dia?”

Turning to the side, I found Dia smiling enchantingly at me. Startled, I asked what brought her here, and she answered with a soft smile that she came to see me. Wow, she really does whatever she wants…

“Who’s in your group, Dia?”

“The sword monster, the magic monster, and Peter.”

Uh… hmm. Oh dear. That’s a terrifying group.

To explain: the “sword monster” was the nickname Dia had given to Kyle. I assume the “magic monster” refers to Aren…

Even having Kyle alone would make for a formidable group, but adding Aren—the magic genius—to that? No words could properly express how terrifying that team was. And with Dia on top of that…

Now I’m honestly worried whether poor Peter will survive being in that group.

“Hmm, your group… probably won’t have any dangerous situations…”

If a competition between groups were to suddenly break out, Dia’s group would surely sweep the victory. I imagined the three of them going wild and quickly shook my head… Too dangerous.

“Anyway, that’s good. Seems like a solid group.”

“Not really for me…”

When I asked, “Huh, why?”, Dia played with a strand of my hair and bluntly replied,

“Because you’re not in it. And the atmosphere is intense.”

“Huh?”

I could understand her being a bit down because I wasn’t there, but what did she mean by intense atmosphere? Kyle is pretty calm and Aren is kind and gentle—how could things feel intense with those two?

“Didn’t you mean awkward instead of intense?”

“Nope. Not awkward. It was so tense I just ditched Peter and ran off on my own.”

Oh no… poor Peter. Imagining Peter stuck between those two made me feel genuinely sorry for him. I hoped he was okay, trapped between two top-tier prodigies.

But still, I couldn’t understand what exactly made the mood so tense. Dia didn’t usually get along well with guys, so maybe that was part of it. But the confusing part was Kyle and Aren. It’s not like they didn’t get along, so then why…

“Why did the mood get so intense?”

“Maybe because of me?”

After hearing my muttering, Dia cheerfully pointed at herself with a finger. Ah, so you were the culprit. As expected, Dia had a knack for stirring things up. According to her, things got tense all of a sudden because of a single careless comment she made.

“Haha, what did you say that caused all that?”

“Well, I mentioned how Kyle kissed yo—”

“Found you.”

Kyle appeared out of nowhere, cutting off Dia’s words. With his black hair fluttering gently as he walked over, he looked dazzling as ever—so dazzling that I couldn’t get within a meter of him. Ugh, please, just for one day, don’t be so good-looking. Then I might actually be able to approach you.