35 Amber Mountain (1/2)
The day before the camping trip, Countess Rosendrey could be seen hastily pulling out every article of clothing in Maria's dresser or closet and piling them on top of the mountain of clothes already in her suitcase.
'S-She's overdoing it!' Maria didn't know how to put a stop to her mother's madness; luckily Shirone tried to lend a hand by speaking reason to the countess.
”My Lady, the ojou-sama will only be gone for a week. The number of clothes you're packing exceeds that length. I urge you to please put some back.”
”No way! My darling Maria-chan will be away from her mommy for a whole week! I must make sure she has everything she'll need and more. It's better to be cautious than not to be!” the countess proudly stated, before engulfing her daughter in a tight bear-hug.
”Mommy wants to make sure her little cub will be safe and have everything she needs. Plus, I can't help but worry since Shirone and Kuroka won't be tagging along with you. Ah, Mommy wishes she could tag along,” tearfully sighed Countess Rosendrey.
Maria felt the back of her head pressed against her mother's bosom and a sweatdrop hung down from her head.
Since the purpose of this trip was to help students become more independent, more knowledgeable of their surroundings, and help improve their control over their magic, the academy had banned students from bringing along their aides, meaning Maria couldn't bring Shirone and Kuroka.
Countess Rosendrey was overcome with distress when she became informed, and without restraint began overpacking Maria's luggage.
It took a long time before Countess Rosendrey could be reasoned with, and reluctantly, she removed all of the extra items she packed. The camping trip was the next day; the students were personally dropped off at a relaxing resort lodge located at the base of Amber Mountain. The location of Amber Mountain was miles outside the capital, close to the border of the south region.
Stepping out of the carriage and after saying goodbye to Shirone and Kuroka, Maria spotted a lot of students scattered outside the premise of the resort. Most of them were laughing and chatting in groups when she heard a loud familiar voice called out to her.
”Maria! You finally made it!” Appearing in her sight, Maria was happy to see Mai, a tired Julian trailing not that far behind her.
Happy to be with friends, the three began talking about what to expect from the duration of this camping trip. Their conversation was only put to a pause when all of the homeroom teachers began to call for assembly. Once that was out of the way, a different teacher, who Maria never saw before, began speaking of the activity they'd be participating in today.
”For today's first activity, students, your first task is to go out and bring back more than three edible items. You have until lunchtime to deliver them to the station where your homeroom teacher will be awaiting you.” After announcing these instructions, the students were handed out baskets before scattering throughout the base of the mountain.
Maria, Mai, and Julian moved as a group and stumbled upon this broad field where a variety of berries were growing in the area. Walking closer, Maria spotted round blueberries, glistening raspberries, and bright red strawberries.
Crouching down on the ground, Maria set down her basket, plucking the fruits, and dropping them into her basket. Maria didn't want to fill her basket with only berries, so once she was satisfied with a certain amount, she picked up her basket and moved to a different location nearby.
Walking farther up ahead, a mile away from the berry bushes, Maria saw a large tree, its leaves basking in the sunlight, and hanging from it were round orange fruits, the size of her palm. ”Oranges!” Her emerald green eyes lit up with excitement. Rushing over to the tree, she plucked two to three oranges and added them to her basket.
Sensing another presence join her, Maria looked to her left and saw Julian. ”Look, Julian! Oranges!” Maria happily exclaimed. The smile on her face, somehow, caused the timid boy to blush and look away.
'Ah, my heart is acting weird again.' Julian, for the life of him, could not understand why his heart always beat uncomfortably in his chest whenever he saw Maria's lively sweet smile.
'Could I be coming down with something? Oh no! Don't tell me I'm sick!' Julian was still too young to understand the depth of his feelings. His mind was jumping to the first reasonable conclusion.
Unaware of the thoughts going through her friend's head, Maria was distracted when she heard Mai's voice yell out from a distance. Following the sound of Mai's voice, Maria was confused when she saw no one in the area when Julian tapped her shoulder and signaled her to look up. Pointing her gaze towards the sky, Maria saw an average height tree standing before her and having climbed onto one of its big thick branches was Mai.