So I'm Rouge, So what?

School Life, Again?

They still haven't noticed that I'm gone...

I guess I have some time to explore this place.

Kufufufu, I might find something interesting in here. 

*  *  *

Today we have extracurricular activities.

My activity, the exploration class, convenes on a small mountain close to the academy.

Though, “close” is relative, since it takes half a day just to walk there and just as long to get back.

Only students who have passed an exam administered by the academy can participate.

Among us first-years, a total of twelve people received permission to take the exploration class.

We leave the school early in the morning and arrive at the foot of the mountain just before noon.

There we have a final briefing session in the cabin at the base and eat lunch.

After lunch, we get divided into groups and start the ascent.

We’ll spend the whole day exploring the mountain, camp there overnight, and head back down the following morning.

In terms of danger levels, only the weakest, lowest-class monsters live in the area.

Before the exploration, the high school sent some personnel to investigate, confirming that no strong monsters had turned up.

Even weak monsters sometimes evolve and become strong, so apparently, they check before each lesson.

There are several objectives for these outings:
To learn basic survival skills.

To experience an environment inhabited by actual monsters.

To collect medicinal herbs and gain more knowledge about mountains.
The overall goal is to accumulate all these experiences.

Ideally, we’re supposed to do that by remaining safe throughout the trip.

There’s even a penalty if anyone tries to confront monsters directly.

If you are attacked, you can gain points based on how you deal with it, but going out of your way to attack monsters is strictly forbidden.

The class is divided into parties, each consisting of four students and one teacher.

The makeup of these parties is decided by lots, and unless there’s a major balance issue, there’s no switching places.

Unfortunately, Sue, Katia, and Yuri ended up on separate teams from me.

Even more unfortunately, I’m on the same team as Hugo.

Our party consists of myself, Hugo, Ms. Oka (aka Filimøs), and Parton, a knight’s son. The teacher in charge is Professor Oriza, our magic instructor.

Parton and I are more than just acquaintances, but we don’t quite have a proper friendship.

Parton’s father was a former baron, but he worked his way up to the peerage rank of count through his military accomplishments.

He also trained his son quite rigorously, so Parton specializes in physical-based skills.

His strength is also on the higher end in our grade.

Apparently, that’s still not enough to satisfy him, so he devotes himself very seriously to daily training.

He tends to act very deferential toward me, so while we talk sometimes, I don’t think we’re particularly close.