Episode 77

Class President Ayase Satzuki hesitated over the Chinese-style rice bowl in front of her.

The reason was her usual inability to handle spicy food.

Yet, she couldn’t overlook the expectant eyes around her, prompting Ayase to finally decide to eat the Chinese-style rice bowl.

Gulp.

The sauce was so red that it appeared spicy at first glance.

Before taking a big spoonful of the Chinese-style rice bowl, she first checked its smell.

‘The scent of green onions masks the pork smell. And there’s a hint of spiciness mixed with a smoky aroma.’

Contrary to the completely red sauce of the rice bowl, the taste didn’t seem too spicy.

‘This might be okay…’

Encouraged, she put the spoon in her mouth.

Chomp!

Her first impression upon tasting it was ‘delicious.’

You might question such a reaction, but to be precise, it was ‘deliciously spicy.’

Even Ayase, who struggled with spicy food, found it to be just the right level of spiciness.

The rice bowl sauce, which had turned completely red from a generous amount of chili powder during cooking, surprisingly had a clean aftertaste, unlike its appearance.

It was slightly spicy, but the overall balance of salty and sweet flavors was excellent.

The crunchy texture of the vegetables was pleasing, as was the taste of the pork chewed together with the rice grains.

Pop! Pop!

The shrimp that occasionally popped with the vegetables made one anticipate the next bite without realizing it.

Unaware of the large sweat droplets on her nose, she was already stuffing her mouth with the Chinese-style rice bowl.

Kim Yu-seong, who had been quietly observing, offered her a small piece of advice.

“Breaking the yolk of the fried egg next to you and mixing it together is also delicious.”

‘Fried egg?’

Mesmerized, Ayase, who had been continuously moving her spoon, finally noticed the fried egg placed at one corner of the plate.

The sunny-side-up fried egg, perfectly cooked, had its edges completely browned.

Pop!

A gentle touch with the spoon caused the yolk, trapped within a thin membrane, to flow out like lava.

She mixed it with the red-sauced rice and took a bite.

‘Ah!’

It was cunning.

Cunningly delicious.

Who would have thought that such a perfectly balanced dish could be created with limited ingredients in a confined space?

Considering those who couldn’t eat spicy food, the Chinese-style rice bowl mixed with creamy egg yolk was not spicy at all, yet it perfectly retained its original umami flavor.

The gentle richness of the egg soothed her tingling tongue caused by the spicy sauce.

After a few bites, the bowl was soon emptied.

After the last spoonful, the Class President, with sweat-soaked hair pushed back behind her ears, murmured contentedly.

“I ate well…♡”

Her appearance seemed excessively seductive.

The final winner of the cooking contest, decided after the Class President’s fair judgment, was the Chinese-style rice bowl.

Sasha and Rika, who confidently participated but ended up losing, wiped their tears. Since it started as half a joke, we sat around on the wooden terrace and began our dinner.

“There’s plenty of rice, so I’ll refill it if you need more.”

“Wow! As expected of Yaguchi! You’re so generous!”

We shared the dishes we each made, placed in the center of the table.

Rika’s omurice seemed undercooked, so we heated it a bit more. Apart from that, it was quite edible. Inside was ordinary chicken rice.

Sasha’s beef stroganoff felt a bit bland on rice, according to the Class President’s judgment, but adding some salt and pepper as an emergency measure made it taste good.

Exotic food itself gave a sense of travel, so if I were the judge, I would have voted for the beef stroganoff.

Lastly, for the Chinese-style rice bowl sauce I made, I distributed the fried eggs made exactly for the number of people, then allotted the sauce as desired.

Since I made a generous amount from the start, the leftovers were exchanged with another group’s curry, and it became extremely popular.

Actually, curry was a dish often made in regular homes, not just at field schools.

And most of the curry flavor came from the curry powder, which was mostly mass-produced by large companies, so it was rare to find a particularly delicious curry.

In such a situation, the appearance of the Chinese-style rice bowl with a completely different taste naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Eventually, not only our group but also kids from other classes who came smelling the food exchanged and ate with us, so we ended up eating a lot of curry as well.

It was indeed a satisfying dinner.

After dinner, I headed towards a storage shed in the corner of the campsite.

It was to prepare for my role as a ghost in the courage test happening later that evening.

Clunk!

“Ah.”

“It’s Kim Yu-seong.”

“What do we do? What do we do?”

Inside the shed, it seemed like selected individuals from each class were discussing how to do their makeup and scare the kids.

It had been about three months since the start of the new semester, and while most of the prejudices and misunderstandings among my classmates had been resolved, kids from other classes, with whom I hadn’t really interacted, still seemed to be scared of me.

But I couldn’t just be here and not talk to anyone, so I decided to muster up the courage to start a conversation.

“Hi. I’m here for the ghost role too.”

Then, one of the trembling kids cautiously asked,

“Are you the representative chosen from Class 2-B?”

“Yeah. And you don’t need to be so scared. I’m not as scary as you might think.”

The boy, who had first spoken to me, nodded hesitantly.

“Okay, okay.”

He didn’t seem entirely convinced, but well, I guess this will do for now.

I asked the other seven people sitting around in the storage room,

“Did you guys hear how the courage test is going to be conducted?”

The girl next to me hesitated before answering.

“According to the materials given by Mr. Matsuda, we’re supposed to walk along a set path, turn around at a handkerchief-tied turning point, and then come back to the campsite. The total distance is about 1km round trip, so it’s not too far.”

Looking at the printout she handed me, it indeed outlined a straightforward linear route.

It seemed unlikely that the students would get lost or wander off.

“Are the eight of us here taking turns playing the ghost?”

“…Yeah. We don’t need a lot of people for it anyway. We’re thinking of doing it in two shifts, four people at a time.”

I nodded to the explanation and then realized that the others had already somewhat started with their makeup.

“So, what kind of makeup should I do?”

The boy who first spoke to me thought for a moment and then pointed to something in the corner of the storage room.

“How about that?”

A white hockey mask, overalls, and an orange chainsaw.

It was the costume of a killer from a famous horror movie.

‘Don’t ever do ghost makeup. Someone might faint at the sight of you.’

Satoru’s words flashed through my mind, but my desire to do the ghost role properly was stronger.

‘Sorry, Satoru.’

I murmured that to myself and then, with the help of kids from other classes, tried on the killer makeup.

“How is it?”

The kids looked at me with serious expressions.

“…….”

“…….”

None of them seemed eager to speak.

When I slightly lifted the chainsaw, just in case, the most frightened-looking kid flinched and stepped back a few steps.

“This is too scary.”

“…Really?”

“If anyone runs into you looking like that in the middle of the night in the forest, someone will surely have a heart attack.”

In light of the brutally honest feedback, I quietly took off the hockey mask I was wearing.

“So, what kind of makeup should I do?”

Then, a boy from another class, rubbing his forehead as if tired, pointed to a red goblin mask lying in the corner of the storage room.

“Let’s go with that instead.”

And so, my ghost costume was decided to be a plastic oni mask.

Courage Test.

As a regular event at field schools, it was often conducted in male-female pairs.

In romantic comedies, it was often used to showcase a guy’s bravery when the relationship between the boy and girl was ambiguous.

But this story had nothing to do with me, who was playing the role of the ghost in this courage test.

“Curse this fate~”

Hiding at a pre-designated location, I uttered the ghost’s customary line.

Though the line didn’t quite fit the situation, my deep voice made it feel somewhat fitting.

I took out my smartphone to check the time.

The current time was 7:58 PM.

The sun had completely set, and the forest was engulfed in pitch darkness.

Honestly, it was so dark that even the bravest might feel scared.

I felt the same, so I wished for the slow time to pass quickly.

Scaring the passing students seemed less frightening than just waiting.