I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 16

 

ꕥ

 

I looked up at the sky reflexively. As soon as I looked up at the sky, I saw raindrops fall on my body.

 

I feel like it’s going to rain harder, so I wrap my collected herbs in cloth. There were many herbs to dry, but it would be difficult if it gets wet in the rain.

 

“Caon, let’s go down before the rain gets stronger.”

 

I decided to go down and looked around to find Carson. However, Carson wasn’t around when I turned my head, where did he go?

 

Considering his personality, he couldn’t have gone down first leaving me behind.

 

“Caon?”

 

As soon as I called his name once again, for a moment, Carson suddenly appeared in front of me.

 

“Did you call me, Leen? I’m sorry, I’m a little late.”

 

I blinked in surprise. Because I didn’t know he would suddenly show up in front of me just because I called his name.

 

Come to think of it, I didn’t feel any rain on me since Carson appeared.

 

I glanced at him, and a transparent layer was formed around us, protecting us from getting wet from the rain. He also has good skills.

 

“Where have you been, Caon?”

 

Instead of answering, he handed me a pink rose. Seeing that it didn’t prick his hands, it seemed that he must have removed the thorns before giving it to me.

 

“I tried to find a flower that resembles you, but I couldn’t find anything even if I searched throughout the mountain… So I picked a rose that resembles me instead.”

 

Carson smiles softly with blushing cheeks.

 

“How do you like it, this flower that looks like me…?”

 

I was caught in a subtle mood when I suddenly received a rose from him. Does Carson know that the flower language of a pink rose means passionate love? I looked at the pink rose in the distance, and eventually had to admit it.

 

“Yes, it resembles you a lot.” 

 

That he resembles this rose terribly.

 

 ꕥ

 

After completing all the group assignments alone, I was able to hear some unexpected news that Monday was the submission day.

 

From Hans, who told me to grind my teeth alone and do the assignment.

 

“So… Your grandfather’s ex-lover was your grandmother?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Hans shook his head as if what he heard was correct.

 

Then why would you say that? Wasn’t that a crime?  I kept my mouth shut, but Hans scratched his cheek awkwardly when he saw my rotten expression towards him. He must have thought the words were strange to hear.

 

“I was in a hurry, so I couldn’t say anything. Well, my grandfather divorced my grandmother, so it’s not wrong in some way.”

 

“How could you get out of here like that…”

 

“Haha! I fell into it, so I guess the two of you did a group assignment? One of them said that he was feeling sick.”

 

“Oh, that’s what…”

 

“I’m sorry, and as I said before, please submit it without my name.”

 

“No, it’s not that. I did the group assignment alone.”

 

“What?”

 

Hans looked at the empty seats of the group members who weren’t there yet with a confused expression.

 

“Apart from the other one, where’s Amila?”

 

So that girl’s name was Amila.

 

“Blabber didn’t even come to the promised place. I’ve been waiting for more than 40 minutes, so I’m sure I’ve waited long enough.”

 

“Oh, she’s like that. You must have had a hard time.”

 

I raised one eyebrow.  You know what I’ve been through.

 

Hans missed the group assignment due to unavoidable circumstances, and he apologized for it.

 

Besides, he seems fine with removing his name from the assignment.  He seems to be a decent kid than I thought.

 

As I was revising my assessment of Hans to the positive side in my mind, I heard his voice mixed with questions.

 

“More than that… blabber? I know the word potato, but what’s ‘blab’?

 

“Speaking of potatoes.”

 

“Does Amila look like a potato?”

 

“No, not because she looks like a potato, it’s because blabber’s brain resembles a potato.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

“It resembles a round shape without wrinkles.”

 

“Pfft! It’s hard to refute that part. It’s a fact that everyone admits that Amila speaks out without thinking first.”

 

I shrugged lightly and looked at him. Then Hans laughed out loud and banged my back.

 

“You’re more interesting than I thought, aren’t you? I was wondering if you had any emotions because you always had no facial expression.”

 

You could just say it. Why the hell are you hitting someone who didn’t do anything to you? Thanks to you, I crouched without realizing it. I sighed and pushed his hand off.

 

“I tend to laugh when I’m with someone I’m close to. You don’t have to laugh during the herbal class. There’s nothing to laugh about.”

 

Hans said awkwardly whether his retracted hand was not even awkward.

 

“Oh! come to think of it, the one who’s always next to you…”

 

“Jane?”

 

“A girl with short, milky hair.”

 

“…I think it’s Jane’s right. Why? Are you interested?”

 

“How did you know? It’s Jane. Wow, even her name was pretty. She’s my ideal type.”

 

I quickly gave him a serious look seeing him blushing shyly.

 

“Get out of my sight right now.”

 

Cancel the thought that he was a decent kid.  How dare you target my angelic Jane.

 

Jane has to meet someone who’s ‘Young and Rich, Tall and Handsome’. On the subject, you only meet the ‘young’ part and everything else was zero. Something as cheeky.

 

“What, all of a sudden? No, did I do something wrong?”

 

Hans asked with an unfair look, but I ignored him as if I couldn’t hear anything he said.

  

ꕥ

 

“Professor George. I’m here to submit my assignment.”

 

“Come on in.”

 

With Professor George’s permission, Leen calmly opened the door and entered Professor George’s lab.

 

While looking at the herbs, Professor George was wearing glasses that he didn’t usually wear.  He looked tired, his appearance reminds me of a half-dead man.

 

Come to think of it, I saw bodies walking around before entering the lab, but I think they came out of this lab.

 

People who write as students and read as slaves to professors.

 

Leen thought naturally. ‘I shouldn’t go for master’s or doctoral programs later. Never.’

 

“Give it to me.”

 

Professor George reached out and took half of the work I was holding and took some again.

 

Then on the spot, he skimmed through it. Soon after, the professor turned away from Leen’s assignment.

 

“I’m done grading it, so take it. Your group’s grade is F.”

 

He told me to take it and threw the assignment on the floor.  It was an act that meant bending down and picking it up to take it.

 

Leen looked down at the assignment lying on the floor and made eye contact with Professor George.

 

She swallowed tearful words and calmly opened her mouth. “Why?”

 

Professor George quietly put down the glasses he was wearing on his desk with a thud sound.

 

“You don’t know that, do you? You did something very interesting. It would have been better in terms of score to pull out herbs that spread on the side of the road.”

 

“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand.”

 

Professor George’s face crumpled.  Originally, he didn’t have a very good impression, and it gives off a harsh atmosphere.

 

“What? You don’t understand it, do you?”

 

“I deliberately selected only the herbs that are not common for this assignment. Unless it’s a herb on the mountain, it was essential to enter the monster area, didn’t the professor give it as a group assignment?”

 

“Yes, I did. But I told you to work on your assignment, I didn’t say you could get help from a third party.”

 

Third-party? Indeed, I somehow entered the monster area with Carson, but I dug out all the herbs with my own hands.

 

I even rejected Carsion’s offer to magically pull out the herbs at once. To collect them without any damage to the herbs.

 

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, but I didn’t get anyone else’s help.”

 

“So what’s the explanation for that crazy level of information?”

 

“What?”

 

“Ranunculus on the third page.”

 

Leen was surprised that Professor George remembered the details of the page.  I didn’t expect you to read it properly because you only glanced at it for such a short time.

 

“The relieving effect of the herb that your group was able to discover in less than a week which was only revealed last week. Senior freshmen like you couldn’t have known and written it down there’s no way.”

 

‘It was a fact that I knew this before.’

 

Professor George clicked his tongue as Leen stood silently in disbelief. He thought she was embarrassed to find out that she had lied.

 

“In fact, it’s not the only one suspicious. Asphodel? and how did you get the herbs from Maroniena rasp? There are only herbs that no one would believe were collected by a senior 1st grader.”

 

‘I grew up well there.’

 

Well, even if he was Professor George, it would have been a bit difficult to believe. Those herbs were the kind of herbs that were difficult to find unless they were skilled, experienced herbalists.

 

After Leen realized that Professor George had a strange misunderstanding, she quickly thought of a solution.

 

She then picked up the assignments that were scattered on the floor. Leen looked the professor in the eye.

 

“I’m not a nerd who just noticed the relieving effect of Ranunculus… No, I didn’t know that it was only discovered a while ago. It’s a fact that I knew and took for granted since I was a child.”

 

“It’s a fact you knew?”

 

Professor George’s eyebrows distorted deeper because he thought it was ridiculous. Ranunculus was a medicinal herb that was classified as an ornamental flower.

 

(N: RANUNCULUS/ Bulbous buttercup-a flower used as medicine for skin diseases)

 

Taking such a flower in the first place and conducting an efficacy study was usually only a geek. Just like myself.

 

Leen opened her mouth and spoke without paying attention to Professor George’s crumpled expression.

 

“All the herbs I mentioned in this assignment were collected behind the academy. I have nothing more to say even if you keep questioning that. ‘Cause, that’s where I picked it up.”

 

At Leen’s words, Professor George became confused.  Because it was rare for a student to show confidence even after seeing his frowning face.

 

Come to think of it, the student in front of him has passed the intermediate transfer test, which was known to be difficult.

 

The student also got a score close to perfect.  But contrary to what he expected at first, Leen only slept every day during class.

 

Even when she’s awake, she doesn’t listen and stares in the air with a blank face.

 

In that appearance, Professor George said his damn fellow faculty members must have leaked even test questions.

 

There was a bit of a weird side to it. Leen knows something like a ghost when he mentions valuable information from time to time.

 

Even though it’s clear that she doesn’t know if what I said was valuable information or not.

 

At that moment, an assumption crossed Professor George’s mind.

 

No way. ‘It’s a fact that she already knows, so she didn’t listen to it.’