Chapter 505: Late autumn picnic (5)

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A school picnic trip.

They’re usually days for students to go out and unwind, but this day is a part of our regular curriculum that requires attendance checks and guidance from our teachers.

As a result, typical patterns and styles exist in these kinds of trips.

Students always end up going to the same places, playing the same kind of games.

One of the most common recreational games was treasure hunting.

“Treasure hunt? I did that in elementary school…”

“We didn’t do it in ours.

“Wow, I’ve never tried it! Have you tried it before? What kind of game is it?”

Like Kwon Lena, Maeng Hyodon, and Saeum of April, the kids’ reactions were largely divided.

Some already experienced it, those that heard of it but haven’t tried it, and those who have no idea at all what it is.

And another thing, some kids analyzed Yong Jegun’s words intensely.

“You had a friend who played treasure hunt with you, professor?”

“…A friend?”

Song Daesok and Dokgo Miro brought up a sharp point.

Kim Shinrok is Yong Jegun’s only friend, and that treasure hunt game of theirs is something that only Yong Jegun enjoys.

The 5,000-year-old dragon forgets his age when he plays it, and I remember hearing about it from them.

— Shinrok prepared an event for me, but he must’ve gotten angry ‘cos I figured it out too quickly.

—…An event?

— How should I explain this… Oh, like a treasure-hunting event.

— Yeah, you like treasures…

— Yeah that’s right.

Kim Shinrok’s surprise event was actually a minor revenge on Yong Jegun, but the latter treated it as a treasure hunt game.

Kim Shinrok was frustrated that Yong Jegun wasn’t hit at all, and Yong Jegun enjoyed that frustration.

That incident led our class to play a treasure hunt event today, but I think Kim Shinrok won’t be very happy when he finds out about it later on.

“I hid some papers all around beforehand. They’re otherworld papers with my energy waves on them, so you’ll know it once you see them.”

Yong Jegun said, showing a small piece of cyan-colored paper.

Unlike ordinary paper, otherworld paper absorbs energy waves.

The note had the word ‘treasure ^^’ written on it, perhaps containing the rules of the game.

“If you find the note, I’ll give you the prize written on it. There are a lot of good items, so I hope you find them all.”

Good items prepared by Yong Jegun.

I doubted it, but the other kids seemed interested.

The first thing they focused on was the note.

“The paper is dyed with energy waves, but I don’t feel energy waves on the paper itself.”

“It’s very insignificant. It’s hard to use energy waves to detect these papers.”

When Hani and Mok Wooram said so, most of the kids gave up on their plan to search for the papers through energy waves.

Though Hwang Jiho looked at the paper for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Is that so? Hahahaha!”

Hwang Jiho must be able to detect Yong Jegun’s energy waves in the note.

Maybe it’s because he’s known Yong Jegun for a long time, or maybe because of the old man’s thousands of years of experience.

Meanwhile, Ong Gildong and Goo Seulbi, who seemed strangely quiet, seemed frustrated as they hit their heads into the seats in front of them.

“Treasure hunt… If I knew there was a big event like this, I would’ve prepared a separate outfit!”

“What a shame, I didn’t think of a ceremony to celebrate my victory!”

“If we’re talking about treasure then it’s most certainly me… My identity is threatened… geuhk…”

Ong Gilding and Goo Seulbi were frustrated by the news of the treasure-hunting event.

However, by the time we got off the monorail, they recovered and enjoyed the amusement park.

The two weren’t prepared for the event, but they seemed to have thoroughly thought of how to make the most of the attractions.

‘I’m glad those two adjusted well.’

Although Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong were notorious attention-seekers, they’re still my playable characters, and my classmates in Class Zero.

I wanted them to get along well with everyone.

As of now, the two seemed to be absorbed in standing out and having fun rather than interacting with the other kids, but they still managed to mix in well.

The attention-seekers immediately pointed out where to take the best selfies and where to take the fancy group photos as they moved along.

They sat together on all the rides naturally, and the other kids looked at them with warm eyes.

“Those two get along well. They always have a couple look too.:

“Hmm… I don’t think they’re dating though. I think they’re just really close.”

The attention-seekers, who were turning the steering wheel of the rotating basket-shaped teacup ride, were laughing without a care in the world.

Looking at them closely, they seemed like soulmates rather than lovers.

Kim Yuri, the best out of all of us when it comes to social skills, seemed to understand.

“Oh? Really? They’re like that but they’re not dating?”

“Yeah, just like Daesok and Geurin.”

“Ah, that sounds right.”

A basket with Min Geurin and Song Daesok — no, Song TB — was spinning nearby.

Song TB was in the middle of excitedly speeding up the spinning basket when he must’ve overheard his name.

“What, why?!”

I don’t think he heard any of the other words we said, but Min Geurin, who grasped the situation quickly, answered him.

“I think they’re calling you a TB again, Daesok-ah.”

“Gah, why!”

The fact that he doesn’t know solidifies his TB status.

Song TB was irritated for a moment, but he soon fell again into the fun of turning the steering wheel of the rotating basket.

That’s how our class spent the whole morning touring the park.

The kids’ best choice was the VR roller coaster ride.

It’s thrilling enough just to ride it, but everyone agreed that changing the environment through the VR device made it a lot more fun.

It was a jumpscare kind of attraction.

“The costumes were nice. The backgrounds too. The pictures all over the place were fine too…”

“Yes, it’s impressive that the background was in real life, not VR. Though they’d have to work harder in scaring people.”

Because our class was full of excellent players, everyone predicted what kind of things would pop out in advance.

Some kids pretended to be surprised to keep the atmosphere going, while some just enjoyed looking at the ghosts and monsters.

Maeng Hyodon tried to attack one of them reflexively, but he stopped at Ham Geunhyung’s restraint.

The two attention-seekers tried to take a selfie with a robot dressed as a monster, timing the flash of their cameras perfectly.

Though of course, there were some exceptions.

“I was scared. Especially the werewolf with the bloody mouth. I think it’ll appear in my dreams.”

“…Me too. I wanna ride something else and forget about it.”

Saeum of April and Kwon Lena managed to detect the surprises in advance too, but their minds were hazy by the time the ride was in the middle.

In the end, the two screamed until they escaped.

As we enjoyed ourselves all morning, the time for lunch finally came.

Having played very well, everyone seemed to be hungry as they welcomed lunchtime.

“Let’s set up the table! Lena, Jiho, and Saeum prepared today’s menu!”

They opened the thermos lunch boxes, revealing the colorful kimbaps and roll sandwiches.

Looking at the finely cut cross-section, both seemed to be filled with lots of ingredients.

“…Do we have our share too?”

“Yeah, we prepared a lot so let’s share and eat together.”

Kim Yuri brightly answered Goo SEulbi’s question.

Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong, touched by the gesture, accepted the chopsticks from Kim Yuri and ate their share.

After tasting the food, Ong Gildong poured out praises to the point where it was somehow embarrassing.

“The taste of the kimbap — the ingredients, the dried squid — everything is excellent! I thought the pork belly would make it a bit greasy, but I have to admit that I was narrow-minded.”

“Hahahaha! Of course, everything this body makes is delicious.”

Ong Gildong spoke with exaggerated gestures, but the old man’s response almost made it seem like it was normal.

The food was really good so there’s not much I could refute.

When Ong Gildong praised Kwon Lena’s blueberry jam sandwich in his extravagant way of speaking, Mok Wooram looked a little frustrated.

“If I had such a way of speaking I could’ve expressed my praise better. It’s a shame.”

By the time the kimbap and the sandwiches were almost finished, Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong brought out some aurora-colored lunch boxes.

They were filled with irregular snacks.

There were high-end snacks sold at bakeries, and those wholesale ones bought at supermarkets.

“…We can eat these.”

“We prepared it urgently, but it’s all Seulbi’s favorites. I hope we can enjoy it together.”

The kids willingly responded to Goo Seulbi and Ong Gildong’s suggestion.

There were some sweet snacks mixed in, and perhaps Goo Seulbi has the same taste as Hani.

Though there were some spicy and salty snacks in between too.

There were a lot of wholesale snacks so there might be a lot of leftovers, but Ong Gildong and I finished them.

I deliberately chose the snacks that the other kids might not want, thinking that Goo Seulbi might be disappointed if there were snacks left.

It seems like Ong Gildong was thinking the same thing.

After lunch, we arranged the seats and Yong Jegun stood in front.

“Since lunch is over, should we start the treasure hunt? Now, any questions before we start?”

“Me!”

Saeum of April raised his hand first.

He was excited, saying he might find the most notes since it was his first treasure hunt and he has the advantage of having a flight skill.

“What areas are the notes hidden?”

“This whole theme park.”

At Yong Jegun’s answer, Mok Wooram spoke with a slightly surprised face.

“This theme park is 13 hectares. That’s quite a wide range.”

“How much is 13 hectares?”

“About 30,000 pyeong.”

Hani’s answer made Maeng Hyodon distressed.

I don’t think he has any idea how wide a hectare or a pyeong is, but he just went with it since the other kids looked surprised.

Looking at the kids’ reactions, Yong Jegun spoke again.

“You guys are players though.”

Yong Jegun opened wide his narrow eyes.

His provocation induced a wave of dissatisfaction.

When the kids turned quiet again, Yong Jegun narrowed back his eyes and laughed.

And then, Song TB broke the peace.

“Well, I already found one so it doesn’t matter.”

“What? Already?!”

“Pff, you guys are lacking attention. I found one while I was on the ride.”

Song Daesok took out a cyan note from his pocket.

“You found one already, Daesok-ah?”

“Yeah, I found two. And you guys say I’m the slow-witted one.”

Song Daesok must be bothered by his new nickname.

But it’s still true so…

“Ah, so I’m the first place then.”

Song Daesok opened the note while the other kids watched him.

In it was a word written in glossy cursive style which I believe is Yong Jegun’s handwriting.

[Dud ^^]

“What’s that?”

“It’s a dud.”

“That’s a relief. The first place is up for grabs! I’ll find the first treasure!”

“Ha, I’ll beat you to it.”

The kids rumbled.

Song Daesok, whose face became sullen from the first note, lifted another one.

“Ah, there’s still one more!”

The reflection made it seem like something other than “dud” was written on the note.

Song Daesok opened the note excitedly.

[Better luck next time ^^]

“Gaaaaah!”

Unable to contain his stress and embarrassment, Song Daesok screamed out loud.

The two royal lineages watching him laughed excitedly.

“Hahahahaha!”

“I knew which attractions we’ll ride, but there’s no way I’d put the notes in there. It’s no fun if you find notes before the game started.”

Despite knowing what kind of person Yong Jegun is, Song TB still fell for it.

When Hwang Jiho’s laughter died down, Yong Jegun spoke again.

“Then shall we decide the teams now?”

“Teams?”

“Yeah.”

Yong Jegun smiled, his bright face looking ominous.

“This treasure hunt will be a team match, not an individual match.”

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