Chapter 1 Part VII

Nevertheless, to repeat something for the millionth time is a challenge, but suddenly the tip of the match lit a spark.

"Oh! Alright!"

Finally, we were going to light a fire. The panic and confusion that were piling up, dropped down by a simple technique.

And… It only produced smoke and in spite of waiting for a long time to spread its flames and see the fire, well there was no sign of it.

"Eh?!…."

"Should we do it more thoroughly, so that it will set fire on the branches? They way we are doing it now is not going to bring any result."

"Alright, this time I will try to do it more carefully. Ah!… Damn it! I failed again. Did they give us defective goods or something?"

It is really difficult to spark a fire using only one match stick, for real, we will not be able to have a bonfire any time soon. Also, Yamauchi gradually seemed to lose his temper, so naturally he grazed the tip of the match with vigor and the thin tip of the stick peeled off too quickly. Like this, 1 match, 2 matches and so on, ended up unused and the sticks were piling up.

"If we fail to start a fire with what remaining matches in the box, then we will be in trouble."

On Yamauchi's feet there was one third of the matches that went to waste, so in order to cool him down I spoke to him.

"It's ok, it's ok. It's enough, because we only have just a few".

I grabbed the match box from him. It did feel light, but there were in no less than 20 sticks. However… If we wanted to keep on using them for a week, then there was a possibility that they were not going to last long.

"I got it! This time, for sure!"

Thankfully, just like as I thought, he put the stick carefully closer to the branches. Surely in order to start a fire, it is necessary to possess a level of skill, but in order to maintain it, it needs persistence. We cannot expect to have a fire based only on our wishes. Again, although the wood branches emitted smoke, still it did not turn into a spreading fire.

"But why? I did not make any mistakes this time, right?! I'm going to ask our teacher for advice."

Failing to look cool in front of Sakura, Yamauchi, felt more flustered than usual, now goes to search for Mrs. Chabashira.

He should think more clearly about the obvious matter. I crouched down trying to rearrange the branches with my hands.

"Why we cannot light a fire?"

This moment, another figure crouched down beside me looking with wonder the burned traces of our efforts.

"I thought that it would be easy, since we used wood, but compared to my imagination, starting a fire in real life is far harder."

I could not comprehend the meaning of Sakura's words, so I just nodded in agreement, pretending that I heard of what she said.

"The bonfires that we see in movies or in dramas are huge with lots of piles of branches, so we take this as reality. We stayed close to this image and we went to gather branches, however, why we couldn't start a fire with our great skills?

We folded the thin branches into one pile.

"It feels like this time we should attach the stick from the side of the thin branches, since there are many branches that are damp, too."

The amateur wondered if it was a reckless act, setting fire to wet branches. Well it seemed like the fire didn't spread widely even though Yamauchi used dozens of matches.

"It's a little troublesome, but we need to go again in the forest to pick up thin and dry branches and highly inflammable leaves…"

"Huh, what are you guys doing in such a place!"

While we went through a trial and error process, Ike, who we'd thought had gone swimming, came back.

"Now, we're a bit in the middle of a preliminary drill of the bonfire. We're struggling and we've been unlucky until now."

"Bonfire, you say? You won't ever set a fire going with those thick branches. Aren't thin branches necessary, at the beginning? The branches that you bring mustn't be thick. There are also wet branches here. It's a complete NO for those too. You're all so lame!"

"Ah, but actually Ayanokouji-kun…"

I decided to cut off Sakura's words. She was following me around.

"Is that so? If you don't mind, can you tell me what should I do?"

"Jeez, I have no choice. I'll do an easy lecture. Just wait a bit, I'll pick them up in a more suitable area"

With that, Ike put down the bag containing his swimsuit, went in the proximity of the forest and came back soon after. It seemed like he picked up branches of several levels, from thin branches to branches of medium thickness. Besides, he also returned bringing with him a bundle of dead leaves.

"I brought some suitable branches. I think we'll manage somehow."

As he said so, he picked up the box where Yamauchi put the matches and quickly set fire on the dead leaves, then the leaves gradually flared and he moved the twigs around. After that, while we watched the regulation of the fire, he cautiously added the branches according to their thickness. In a blink of an eye, the small fire's appearance changed to one of a familiar bonfire.

"That should do it."

"That's amazing. I'm genuinely impressed. As expected, a person who already experienced camping life sure is different."

"It's the basis within the basis. The way to start a fire. Anyone can remember it even if they see it only once."

But he's a very important person now since there are almost no students who have the same experience in D class.

"Oh, crap. Guys, teacher didn't teach me anything — Wow. Why is a bonfire set?"

Yamauchi, who now came back, was surprised to see the splendidly completed bonfire. He was complaining for a little while, grumbling and completely forgetting to show his cool side.

I decided to leave the matter of the bonfire to Ike and Yamauchi, so I left the place.

"Hey, Heyy Ayanokouji-kun. I noticed what you were about to say something before and is it okay to tell them? You don't have to say anything though, if you don't want to."

"Even if you're right there's no solid evidence of my experience, so it bare no meaning to tell them now. Instead, when my experience can be useful to Ike, I'll confirm it myself later for the sake of the class."

That's some cheesy lines there but I simply spoke my mind.

Sakura was looking at me like she was impressed or moved. Somehow, I was feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry. I'm a bit tired so I'll go get some rest. Thank you Sakura."

As I run away, I kept my distance from the base camp.

Miss Chabashira, who was prepararing a tent for personal use in the vicinity, fixed her eyes in my direction. But in the end she decided to ignore me by pretending of not noticing me there.