Picnic 2

Translated by NotBlueYet
Edited by Schwarzel

The forest we arrived in was colored with layers of yellow and green.

There is a rustling wind and the sound of leaves swaying in the trees.

I took a deep breath and let the fresh air fill my lungs.

“Let’s decide how we’re going to explore the forest before we go in.”

Natalie got down on her knees and began to draw a schematic of the area around here, including the forest and King’s Landing, on the dirt.

“A river runs south of the royal capital, and it divides the forest, so why not use it to create a field?”

Natalie adds the river to the south of the royal capital.

And I wrote it in such a way that the river bends quickly in the middle and traverses between the forests.

Even though the forest is used for team battles, the entire forest cannot be used as a field.

Because if you go too far north, demons are more likely to appear.

If that’s the case, we need to create a field with a range from here to this area.

The river bends in the middle, which forms the shape of an arc.

It was just the kind of terrain that could easily be used as a field boundary.

“Well, yes.”

After confirming my nod, Natalie continued.

“Also, I’d like to see some sort of boundary on the other side of the river.”

“How about we build it by raising the ground with earth magic?”

“That’s all well and good, but …let’s mark the tree for today and see what we can do about the size ……”

“It’s a fifteen minute walk from one end to the other; that’s about right, isn’t it?”

The size of the field will change your strategy.

The narrower you are, the less freedom of action you have, and the more the game is decided by simple combat power.

It’s no different than a simple team game.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

But this time, it’s just a battle to defeat a commander, and I think it would be interesting to have a strategic element to it.

On the other hand, if the area is too wide, the time limit may come without encountering the opponent.

If that’s the case, it’s somewhere around…

Natalie draws a circle, using the river as a boundary.

“Yeah, I think it’s good.”

“I think that’s fine, too.”

Natalie nodded her head in satisfaction after getting Emilia and Shallot’s approval.

”Well, now that we’ve decided on everything, it’s time to enter the forest!”

They all nodded at my words.

So we finally started to walk through the forest.

The sun shone through the trees into the forest.

Just walking along the path made of yellow by fallen leaves makes me feel better.

It is a remnant of the time when humans were hunter-gatherers, and it is said that walking in nature calms us down.

Recently, Natalie and I have had a bit of a rocky relationship, and I’ve been moping around.

But I feel better now.

That’s what I mean by mind-blowing!

We never encountered any demons and reached the river in less than an hour on foot.

If you go down this river, you’ll reach the southern side of the royal capital– below the cliffs.

On the other hand, if you go up to the north, you will eventually reach the great forest of Yokuzora.

I think we’ll take a break here.

It’s time for lunch.

I got very hungry even though I only walked a little.

I spread out the leisure sheet I brought with me and put my stuff on it.

The sheet is large enough for four people and our luggage.

Each of us took off our shoes and sat down on the sheet.

I’ve packed a lunch. We’ll all eat.

“Oh, thanks a lot.”

“Thank you, Emilia!”

“Thank you, Emilia.”

Since Emilia said she would cook for me beforehand, I told her not to hesitate and asked her to do it then.

Emilia pulled out a lunch box from her bucket.

And when I opened the box, there was a dish with ingredients sandwiched between two pieces of bread.

“Oh, …sandwiches.”

It is not the sliced bread with ingredients that is often seen in Japan.

It’s a sandwich made with an elongated bucket.

The bucket is cut every 2cm, making it reasonably sized.

A small bucket has a slit in the middle, and the ingredients are inserted into the slit.

The ingredients vary from vegetables and meat to ham and eggs.

All of the sandwiches carefully placed in the lunch box look delicious.

And the scenery that spreads around is a yellow-colored forest and a gently flowing river.

The chirping of the birds and the sound of the river are in harmony.

This is a forest picnic!

What a…… what a great picnic!

I chewed on my sandwich, impressed all by myself.

“Delicious!”

A smile overflowed from me naturally.

“The texture of the slightly hardened bread and the crunchy vegetables inside is unbearably good.”

“I like these times.”

Shallot’s words filled my mouth as I ate.

“As you wish!”

I nodded.

Crumbs spilled from his mouth and fell onto the seat.

When Emilia saw that…

“Woah, that’s dirty.”

She said with a slight scowl.

“Senior ……is dirty.”

Shallot also continued to look at me accusingly.

I gulped down my sandwich, put my hands together and apologized, “Sorry, sorry.”

I picked the crumbs with my hands and threw them out of the sheet.

Then we had a sandwich while chatting and laughing.

Next to me was Emilia and Shallot.

And across the sheet, is Natalie.

Natalie did not open her mouth much, but she had a calm expression on her face.

The whole atmosphere is not bad.

Even the warmth is felt though it is a chilly season.

Maybe it was the sunshine pouring down from the clear sky.

I wish this kind of time could go on forever, I thought so.