I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 169 - Side Story 8

Gazing at me in confusion, Carson stammered.

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

‘Oh. I see you still have a weakness for me. Is it an instinct?’

 

Normally, he would never apologize to anyone.

 

“Hah.”

 

Carson ruffled a hand through his hair and stepped in closer to me.

 

“I don’t know what I can do to make you stop crying, but I apologized.”

 

Huh?

 

When I looked up at him, wondering what he was talking about, I realized I was still pretending to cry.

 

To what extent was touching possible for Carson now, and had he lost his immunity?

 

I spat out the words, unable to contain my curiosity.

 

“Hug me.”

 

“…Not that.”

 

At his stern refusal, I bowed my head and began sobbing again.

 

“Tsk.”

 

I heard a small exasperated sound, and then Carson’s arms tightened around me, and he pulled away just as quickly.

 

If I wasn’t paying attention, I wouldn’t have noticed. I cautiously lifted my head to see his face, already flushed bright red.

 

‘Aw so cute.’

 

Carson’s lips parted in a somewhat stern tone.

 

“Okay, now explain. Who I am and who you are.”

 

“You don’t remember anything, Caon?”

 

I asked, looking hurt, and he winced slightly.

 

“…Yeah.”

 

I was thinking of feeding him a little, perhaps to see how much he’d forget…

 

The young man hadn’t been alive long enough to eat three slices of pumpkin pie without thinking, so it was understandable.

 

I let out a small sigh and told him what he was most curious about.

 

“Your name is Carson, and my name is Leen.”

 

“…So you said Caon, then where is this place?”

 

“Our home.”

 

“…ours?”

 

His brow narrows as if he doesn’t know what I’m talking about, and I shrug my shoulders lightly.

 

“The title is in my name, so technically it’s mine, but since we’re living together, it’s ours.”

 

“What kind of relationship do we have, living together?”

 

“We’re…”

 

I stopped myself from making a joke about being fraternal twins and shut up.

 

Something he’d find out soon enough anyway, if he saw us sleeping in the same bed or buying things as a couple.

 

“You’ll figure that out slowly. If you really want to know, you can ask the old man across the street.”

 

He was punished for eating too much pumpkin pie.

 

Of course, he wasn’t the only one punished.

 

I was also punished for leaving the pumpkin pie unattended, and now I had to brew a potion to restore Carson’s memory.

 

I turned my back and waved my hand gently toward Carson.

 

“Oh, and tell Grandpa that since you ate the pumpkin pie, I’ll make it again next time.”

 

💍 

 

Carson was confused.

 

He was standing in a house, with no memory of where he was or who he was.

 

In front of him was a leftover pumpkin pie and a shopping cart with all sorts of vegetables, as if he had just returned from the grocery store.

 

Looking around the house, he noticed that it was filled with luxurious furniture that seemed somewhat out of place in a humble-looking home…

 

It looked suspicious. It smells of haste.

 

“Abduction…?”

 

It was then.

 

Before he could take in the situation, someone walked into the house.

 

“Caon, are you back already?”

 

“What are you, did you bring me here?”

 

Quickly spitting out the words first, Carson shifted his gaze.

 

As soon as his eyes settled on the person who had entered the house, he forgot his situation and swallowed hard.

 

Long, shiny black hair. Catlike eyes, slanted and fine.

 

A woman so much his type was staring back at him.

 

‘How could she be so beautiful?’ 

 

For a moment, he was mesmerized by her, but then tears filled her eyes, and he snapped back to reality.

 

“What do you mean, Caon? You don’t remember me? Looking at me with those fierce eyes scares me…”

 

His pupils fluttered.

 

Why did her expression make his heart ache so much? It was as if he had committed a great sin.

 

When he asked her what he could do to stop the tears, she asked him to hug her.

 

What kind of relationship did I have with this woman?

 

Was she a lover or… family?

 

He asks the woman what their relationship was, but she doesn’t answer and walks away.

 

When Carson realized that Leen wasn’t going to give him any information, he made his way to the house where the old man lived.

 

He looked around and frowned.

 

It was a strange village.

 

There are obviously several houses in the village, but I didn’t see any signs of human occupancy.

 

Except for the one where the village elder lived.

 

Carson pounded on the door with his fist.

 

Thud—

 

“Ah, it’s not the lady, have you brought it for me?”

 

“Sire, I seem to have lost my memory, tell me everything you know.”

 

“Lost your memory…?”

 

Puzzled, the chief blinked slowly.

 

“Did you happen to eat pumpkin pie?”

 

“I don’t know. When I woke up, there was a leftover pumpkin pie in front of me, but I don’t remember eating it.”

 

‘Oh, my goodness. Eating the very pumpkin pie she had made for him?’

 

“Oh, what did the lady say?”

 

“She only gave me a name, and told me to ask you for the rest.”

 

“Well, poor girl, you’re in for a shock… I’m sorry I caused this.”

 

One of Carson’s eyebrows twitched at the mention of the chief.

 

“Because of me?”

 

“The pumpkin pie you ate was made by the young lady for me, a traumatized man.”

 

“You mean that pumpkin pie erased my memories…?”

 

“Yes. I think you ate it while she was away for a while.”

 

The tension in his body drained away for a reason that seemed so vain.

 

The chief patted Carson on the shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry too much, boy. From what I’ve heard from the young lady, she can make a potion to restore your memories, given time.”

 

Good to know, then…

 

What an idiot he’d been before he’d lost his memory, grabbing a piece of pumpkin pie because it was on the table.

 

He didn’t even like pumpkin pie in the first place.

 

Putting the question to the back of his mind, Carson brought up the purpose of his visit.

 

“By the way, what’s the deal with her and me?”

 

“What kind of relationship?”

 

The chief stroked his white beard from top to bottom as if he were troubled.

 

“That’s a tough question…”

 

“Why is that a hard question, are you senile?”

 

“Because you’ve never told me what your relationship is, and you’ve only been in town a short time…”

 

“Still, it’s a basic question.”

 

“Well, the fact that you came to such a remote village and settled down to stay for the time being suggests that you have a story…”

 

“Still, you can’t tell what kind of relationship we have from our titles and demeanor?”

 

The chief rolled his eyes, remembering Leen and Carson’s conversation.

 

“They called each other by their nicknames, and the atmosphere… it seemed like a lover and a master-servant relationship.”

 

Carson’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of lovers, then stopped at the next word, master-servant.

 

“…A master-servant relationship?”

 

“Because it seemed to me that you treated her like a princess. You treated her with the utmost respect.”

 

“You mean to say, then, that we seemed like people who stayed here pretending to be lovers for some reason?”

 

“Yes.”

 

There was definitely a smirk on her face.

 

Staying alone in a ghost town like this…

 

Was she running away, in love with my lowly status?

 

Carson shook his head as he considered this. Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn’t through blood.

 

💍  

 

It didn’t take long for Carson to realize for sure what his relationship with Leen was.

 

After an awkward dinner with Leen, Carson asked her once again what her relationship with him was.

 

“Even the old man doesn’t know anything about our relationship. What are you hiding?”

 

“… Oh, he didn’t know? That’s a bit surprising.”

 

Leen stared out the window, which was now dark, and led him into the master bedroom.

 

“This is our room, so I’ll go wash up first.”

 

Leading Carson into the master bedroom, Leen nonchalantly collected her clothes.

 

It was a thin, see-through slip that would have to be changed.

 

Panicking, Carson quickly grabbed Leen’s wrist.

 

“Wait. Don’t you have a room for me?”

 

Leen tilted her head lazily at his question.

 

“We’re a couple, why do we need separate rooms?”

 

Oh, my goodness. A couple, not even lovers?

 

Carson was briefly amused. His pre-memory loss self was a bit pathetic, but he had to give him credit for at least one accomplishment.

 

The woman he’d fallen in love with at first sight was actually his wife.

 

But even if they were married, Carson couldn’t bring himself to sleep with her without his memories.

 

“I, I’ll sleep on the living room couch.”

 

“Hmph. Are you sure that’s okay?”

 

Leen smiled meaningfully, one corner of her mouth curling up.

 

“I won’t stop you from sleeping in the living room, but I won’t allow you to come back after your memory returns.”

 

There, your choice.

 

“Spend the night with me, or have your own room for the rest of your life.”