To put into context what this apparent outdoor excursion was supposed to be about, one would need to think of it as a day trip for the students to go outside and enjoy nature. While it was supposed to be designed with learning in mind, that generally took a backseat to the excitement of being able to not be stuffed in a classroom all day.

However, for some people that sounded like a horrible experience. Amasa would be an example of one such person.

“And here’s your lunch for the day.” Their mom handed to them as the pair prepared to head out for the day. “And have fun during your outdoor excursion.”

“You know I won’t.” She responded as they got their shoes on by the front door.

“I do not understand your apprehension to enjoying a fun event.” Tahiko commented as they headed out for the day. “After all, what’s better than connecting with nature?” Doing exactly that was an everyday occurrence for the boy. During his short time here, he could see that the people who lived in this world generally spent more time inside though.

“I hate going outside.” She harshly responded. “It’s dirty, lame, and if it rains then I’m going to be miserable.” Amasa wasn’t hoping to stay dry judging by the gray clouds above their heads. “And the worst part is that we’re staying out until it gets dark so we can sit around a stupid fire.”

“What’s wrong with a campfire?”

“Aside from it being dangerous with a bunch of dumb teens. That also means we’re staying out late.” She already thought it was bad enough to spend so much time in school. Now that they’d be getting home even later meant spending less time doing what she’d rather do indoors. Which mainly consisted of reading some manga or watching videos on the internet.

“Then I’ll just have to show you the joys of being outside.” He took up the challenge of getting her to enjoy herself. It seemed the entire time of seeing her, he noticed she acted mostly like a miserable person. That was strange, given that there were no bad times to be had living life here as he had seen so far.

“And of course I get stuck with you on this trip.” She quipped as they made their way to the school. Though they wouldn’t be staying at this building for long as there were already lines of students sorted by class ready to depart. The school was going to be going to a nature conservation area that was nearby.

They were already off to a poor start in her mind as the students were going to walk there. It was really close to the school, probably a couple of miles at most. That said, even this amount of physical activity was grating on her.

“Aww, how much further do we need to walk?” It wasn’t just her who had an issue with this arrangement. Fukuna, who was just a couple of students in front of them also verbally complained about it. “My feet are killing me.”

“That’s one thing we agree on.” Amasa muttered to herself as she noticed they were about reaching the halfway mark. “Sheesh, we still got a while to go.”

“Do you wish for me to carry you?” Unlike most of the students, Tahiko had maintained an upbeat pace and posture the entire way thus far. Thanks to his training, he was feeling more invigorated than ever. So much so that he didn’t mind challenging himself by adding more weight onto himself. “I’d be willing to bet I could even carry a 1000 kilograms.”

“I don’t weight anywhere near that.” She was offended that he would use that analogy for the offer. It was like he was insulting her weight when she was a perfectly slim girl. “And no thanks, that’s just embarrassing.” Amasa also didn’t care to have the entire class see her being held by what they believed to be her brother.

“Did somebody say carry?” Though their conversation did catch the attention of one specific girl. “If she won’t take the generous offer, then pick me.” Fukuna had no qualms at all about being seen carried by a strong boy. She broke rank and moved back towards the pair of siblings.

“Well, I’m happy to see someone here being enthusiastic.” He had no issues at all with this arrangement and knelt down in front of her. “Simply hop onto my back and enjoy the ride.” Which she quickly obliged and now the pair were moving about with her hanging on.

“Hmpf, figures.” Amasa pouted in response to this sight going on in front of her. Now the rest of her walk was going to be dominated with being forced to see this stupid boy carrying that stupid girl on his back. Meanwhile, despite being glad to have some extra weight to challenge him on his walk. Tahiko couldn’t help but feel that strange killing intent being focused onto him again.

Their walk to the nature conservation area went by without any event after that. Once they reached the ground, he placed the girl down gently to the ground.

“Gee, thanks a lot.” She said as the girl returned to her other friends. Amasa scoffed that he’d willingly allow himself be used in that manner. Though she was certain that boy probably thought he benefited from this experience as well.

“So, what can we expect on our time here?” He asked. The boy couldn’t understand some of the concepts explained to them by the teacher. And he didn’t ask because it was entirely possible the reason for his misunderstanding was due to be not from this world. So he only wanted to keep questions reserved for Amasa.

“Fun for you, I guess.” She answered. Most of today was going to be exploring the ground, mostly unsupervised which she thought was dumb, and taking in the nature around them. There were guided tours so that ones interesting in learning about the plants and animals could use to learn about. Though most were going to be walking around on their own or with friends to see what surrounded them.

Of course, it wasn’t just about going to see things. One was also free to draw the landscapes and the staff were also kind enough to set up some games for the students to play on this excursion. “The only time we really need to return here is for lunch and when we sit around the fire.”

“That really does sound wonderful indeed.” Getting her view on it, despite the girl speaking negatively the entire time, ignited a fire underneath him. “Now come on, how about the two of us explore that this small little part of the world hides.”

“You really can’t do that on your own?” She was hoping he’d leave her alone so she could find a nice private area to sit along and maybe take some pictures too. “It’s not like you don’t have friends. Why don’t you go look for that new friend of yours.”

“Ah right, I wonder where she could be right now?”

“I’d say just call her phone, but I guess you don’t have her number.” Not only that, but he didn’t have a phone either. Amasa figured she was going to have to convince her parents to give him one. Though then the issue would arise that he’d have no clue on how to use one of those things and she’d be stuck teaching him about yet another thing in this world.

“That is fine.” He replied. “I know of another way of contacting people to come to me.” At first, she thought he meant he had some kind of telepathy type of magic to call that girl’s mind. Which prompted her to try and stop him seeing as that girl was unaware of his true identity. However, that would quickly prove to not be the case. “Ida!? Chisa Ida!? Are you near here?”

“What the?” He apparently thought it was appropriate to scream out the girl’s name hoping for a response. That might’ve worked during his time as a knight, but upon seeing that girl once during lunch showed Amasa the type of person Chisa was. “Stop!” She grabbed onto his arm, a growing blush on her face from the second hand embarrassment for that poor girl. “It’s humiliating when you do that.”

“She’s not deaf, so I assume she’ll be able to pinpoint my location now.” He responded, not sure what the problem would be.

“You don’t understand girls at all, do you?” She scolded him as some eyes fell onto them.

“I do believe I have interacted with plenty in my life.” That was simply only somewhat true. However, most of the woman he ever talked to were also knights like him. The only exceptions being the queen and the princess. None of those people would be considered representative of an average girl living in modern Japan.

“Um, hi?” Though thanks to his yelling, Chisa did eventually find her way here. Personally, she wasn’t planning on seeing any of them during this excursion. Like Amasa, the girl was hoping she’d be able to find a quiet spot to draw some pictures of the landscapes and animals around them. Though with him yelling, she felt as though she had no choice but to come over so he’d at least not do that again. It felt nerve racking having her classmates staring at her when they heard her name being yelled across the heavens.

“Ha, see I told you it’d work.” He bragged.