Now that we’d settled on a bivouac site, I started rummaging through my backpack to set up the tent. Before I could get anywhere, Yuji called out for me to wait. What was it now? The sun was about to set completely...
With a look of slight dissatisfaction and irritation, I turned toward him.
"What now, Yuji? If we don't set up fast, it’s going to be pitch black—"
"I know. But I think it’s better if we don't use the tent for this training."
"...Huh?"
What? No tent? In the middle of the mountains? I stared at him, my eyes wide with disbelief.
"...Do I even have to ask why?" I said after a pause, giving him a skeptical look.
Yuji nodded and explained his reasoning for forgoing the tent.
"Of course. This training isn't like our camping trip last week. We don't know when or where an attack might come from. Crawling into an enclosed space like a tent isn't a good move. If we need to react to an ambush, we’d have to waste time just getting out. Especially with these tents—if you zip them up all the way, you have to undo both the inner and outer zippers. That’s not just one extra step; it’s two or more openings for an enemy to exploit."
"..."
"We could tear our way out, but then the tent is useless for the rest of the trip. Wouldn't it be better to just not use it from the start?"
"..."
I pondered his explanation for a moment before nodding. It was a valid point. Since the risk of ambush was so high, a tent would only serve to restrict our movements.
"Besides, you don't really need a tent in an actual dungeon environment anyway. At least, not in the floors we’ve explored up to Level 30."
Yuji gave a wry smile, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere by reminding me of the conditions inside a dungeon. Right... those spaces were basically indoors, neither particularly hot nor cold.
"...True."
"Right?"
A tent wasn't strictly necessary. I let out a small sigh, accepting the reality. But before we committed to the plan, I had to check one more thing.
"Um, Hiiragi-san? That’s the situation. How do you feel about sleeping without a tent? If it’s too much, we can still set it up..."
"...I don't need it."
Hiiragi-san hesitated for a second, a look of slight reluctance crossing her face as if she were mourning the loss of a comfort, but she stood firm. She looked truly disappointed, but she gave her consent.
Feeling a twinge of guilt, I lowered my voice for a final check.
"...You don't have to force yourself, you know?"
"It’s okay, really. Don't worry about me. Hirose-kun’s point about the tent makes perfect sense..."
It would be rude to keep pushing when she’d already made up her mind to endure it. Sensing her resolve, Yuji offered a compromise.
"...Alright. I’ll set up a simple camp screen just to provide some privacy, then."
"...Thank you."
A mixture of apology and relief flickered across Hiiragi-san's face.
"Well, now that we’ve got a plan, let’s get moving."
"Yeah."
"Okay."
The sun finished its descent while we were talking, plunging the area into darkness. We pulled our lights from our backpacks and got to work setting up the bivouac site. Honestly, I would have preferred to finish this before the sun went down... Sigh.
Relying on our lamps, we used the tent fabric and some fallen wood to rig up a makeshift camp screen. I’d initially thought about using the tent poles, but they were surprisingly flimsy when used for anything other than their intended purpose and felt like they might snap. I definitely needed to buy a proper camp screen for the dungeon soon. After all, we wouldn't find many convenient branches lying around on the floors.
"Alright, that’s the setup done for now. Let’s get dinner ready."
"Though 'ready' just means putting water and retort pouches into heating packs," Yuji noted.
"Easy is better. Since we don't know when we might be hit, we should eat as quickly as possible."
"Yeah, I guess you're right."
I spread a tarp on the ground and pulled out the meal sets Genya-san had provided. First, I placed the heating agent into the pack, followed by an aluminum bottle of water and a retort pouch of Chikuzenni. The aluminum bottle was there to boil water—at least, that’s what the instructions said.
"Oh, Daiki, you have the Chikuzenni."
"Hm? You got the Nikujaga, Yuji?"
"Yeah."
There were several varieties of retort pouches, and it looked like we’d all picked something different. Checking the spare supply container, I saw even more types, so I doubted we’d have to repeat a meal during this training. Hiiragi-san had opted for the mackerel simmered in miso.
Was this a silent message? That food was the only pleasure we’d get during this ordeal?
"Now we just leave them to heat up."
"How long does it take?"
"The instructions say fifteen to thirty minutes. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it."
"Fifteen minutes... We should have started this while we were putting up the camp screen."
"No need to rush. We can wait."
Still, fifteen minutes in the silence of the mountains felt like an eternity. At home, fifteen minutes would vanish in a heartbeat. How should we kill the time?
As I sat there watching the heating packs begin to puff out steam, Hiiragi-san spoke up.
"...Hey, you two? What should we do about the night watch?"
"The watch, huh... We probably can't do the same rotation we used at camp last week."
"True..."
Yuji and I tried to think, our minds sluggish from the medication. A night watch in this state... we were bound to screw up.
"...We should probably use a two-person system," Yuji suggested, his expression sour. "Given our current condition."
He was right. With two people, the burden of guarding every direction would be halved. If our senses were dulled, increasing the number of eyes was the only logical move.
"Yeah. With our thinking this slow, we might not fall asleep, but the chances of us missing someone approaching are way higher than usual. I agree with the two-person watch."
"I agree as well," Hiiragi-san added. "In this state, I can't honestly say I could stay perfectly vigilant on my own."
We all knew how compromised we were. Considering we hadn't even noticed the ambush right before reaching the summit, keeping a 360-degree watch alone seemed impossible. Plus, if we were hit from multiple directions, a single sentry wouldn't be enough.
"So, two-person teams for the night watch then?"
"Yeah."
"Yes."
We nodded in agreement. We’d figure out the specific rotation later.
"Oh. While we were talking, quite a bit of time passed."
I checked the clock and carefully pulled the retort pouch out of the heating pack, minding the heat. It felt perfectly warmed through.
"Side dish is good. Now for the water bottle..."
The moment I touched the aluminum bottle, I jerked my hand back.
"Hot!"
Damn, that was hotter than a canned coffee from a malfunctioning vending machine.
"Whoa, you okay, Daiki? You get burned?"
"No, I'm fine. But the water is definitely ready."
It probably wasn't boiling, but it felt as hot as the water from an insulated kettle. Those packs were surprisingly effective. Maybe not enough for cup noodles, but plenty for miso soup or freeze-dried meals.
Impressed by the performance, I opened the bag of freeze-dried rice. It was simple—just add water and wait three minutes. I’d gone with plain white rice for my first try.
"Water up to the line... and now we just wait."
I tucked the side dish back into the heating pack to keep it warm and used a towel to handle the scorching aluminum bottle, carefully pouring the water into the rice bag.
Three minutes later...
"Alright, it's ready."
The rice was steaming and smelled surprisingly good. The world really had become a convenient place. I pulled out the side dish and grabbed the plastic spoon from the kit. Dinner was finally served.
"Well, let’s eat."
"Yeah."
"Okay."
We put our hands together.
"Itadaki—!?"
The instant we were about to start, an intense gaze and a wave of hostility washed over us. We practically vaulted off the tarp, diving behind the supply containers to break the line of sight. I scrambled for my light.
"...There!"
I peeked around the edge of the container and clicked the light on, aiming it at the source of the malice.
Seconds later, the bushes rustled, and a figure in a ghillie suit stood up.
"A decent reaction. But a bit careless, don't you think? You must never let your guard down, regardless of the time or place."
With that, the figure vanished back into the woods.
...Seriously? Could they not just let us eat in peace?
After carefully scanning the area to ensure no one else was lurking, we slumped back onto the tarp and let out heavy sighs.
"Hah... our heads really are in a fog. Of course they’d hit us now. Why would we all try to eat at once without leaving a sentry?"
"Yeah. To an attacker, mealtime is nothing but a massive opening..."
"Sitting on the ground in a circle... we might as well have put a sign on our backs that said 'Please Stab Me'..."
Analyzing the cause of the attack only made our drug-addled heads hurt more. And, predictably, the warm dinner we’d been looking forward to had gone stone cold during the panic.
"The only solution is to take turns eating while one person stays on guard from now on."
"Right. At least one person needs to be ready to react instantly..."
"Still, this is a cruel training session," Hiiragi-san muttered, glaring resentfully at her cold mackerel. "To think even the meal sets were part of the trap..."
Yuji and I couldn't have agreed more. The convenience of the kits, combined with our medicine-dulled brains, had led us straight into a psychological trap. A hot, tasty meal in the middle of a grueling hike—it was the perfect bait to make anyone relax their guard.
It wasn't just about finding an opening; they were actively creating situations that forced us to lower our defenses.
"Now I’m starting to wonder if the food itself is spiked with something," I muttered.
"Don't say that. This is all the food we’ve got..."
"I’m not exactly in the mood to claim I can go two days without eating..."
"..."
We stared at our dinner in silence, our eyes filled with suspicion. Was it actually safe? I really hoped they hadn't slipped laxatives into the rice.
Once you started doubting one thing, the suspicions just kept coming.