I’m Not Doing This With A Friend – Chapter 90

Author: Nikss

“I know. What would have happened without you, Leen? I would have never met Jane. Not even.”

Hans shuddered as if he didn’t even want to think about it.

Jane saw him and smiled, as if relieved.

“Congratulations, Hans. Now you can go on your graduation trip with confidence.”

“Yeah. I was wondering what the mood would be like if you went off on your own.”

Arena Academy only went on a graduation trip once during their senior year, before winter break began.

It would be the first and last trip for the entire school year.

Hans sulked at the thought, “Did you think I was the only one who was going to fail the graduation exam?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow. You hurt my feelings when you give me a straight answer like that.”

He didn’t look hurt at all.

To which I shrugged, “But look at the people around us. If they fail, who’s going to graduate from the Academy?”

“That’s…! You’re right, hehe.”

Hans was quick to concede, laughing heartily.

Carson and Fjord waved as they entered the classroom.

“Leen, I’m here.”

“Well, look who’s here.”

I asked, waving back at them.

“What are you two doing here? Did you guys come to console each other for failing the test?”

It was a joke because I knew they would have passed.

Fjord returns the favor, one corner of his mouth curling up.

“No. I came to make fun of you for falling.”

“That’s very sweet of you. I guess you fell and thought everyone else fell too.”

Fjord waves the box and paper in front of my eyes, giving a leisurely look.

“No way. I’m a dead man without a head.”

…Anyone would be dead without their head.

Just as I was about to retort, Carson asked with concern.

“So, what happened to Leen? You seem to have a lot on your mind lately. Did you make a mistake?”

How did he know I was thinking?

I pulled out the crumpled graduation results paper from my pocket and thrust it into Carson’s hand.

“Of course I passed, Look how I did.”

Carson’s face suddenly brightened and he smiled.

“Of course, Leen will never fail. Oh, and to celebrate, shall we go get something to eat for dinner?”

He slipped the paper I handed him into his pocket, muttering something under his breath.

I let out a short laugh at his behavior. His hands and words were so demanding.

What the hell am I going to do with that? Maybe put him on display.

“Everyone here passed the exam. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

When I mouthed my refusal without hesitation, Carson rolled his eyes as if he’d seen it coming.

“What about that new dessert shop on the outskirts of the capital? I hear their choux is truly a work of art.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“Good.”

Fjord looked at the two of us in disbelief.

“I’d sell my soul for a piece of choux.”

Then, as if remembering something, he changed the subject.

“Oh, I was just thinking about the graduation trip in a couple days, but you guys know what?”

“What?”

While Hans and I stared at each other scratching our heads, Jane nodded as if she knew what it was.

“Of course I know.”

“What is it!”

Hans, unable to contain his curiosity, urged them to tell us.

Fjord suddenly picked up the pace, explaining in a low voice.

“The Seven Stars, passed down from the generations of the Arena Academy.”

“Wow, our academy had something like that?”

Hans’s eyes twinkled with interest. My own eyes, in comparison, were a blur.

Not at the stars, but at the wonders.

Fjord, noticing my lack of reaction, smirked.

“Leen. I can see why you’re making that face, but it’s a starfish.”

He showed me where he’d gotten it and made a star out of a rubber band.

…A real starfish?

Seeing my puzzled expression, Fjord twitched his facial muscles.

“Pfft.”

What the hell?

Eventually, Fjord grabs his stomach and starts laughing.

“Did you fall for that, puhahaha!”

“…”

Oh, crap. I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for that. I pursed my lips in exasperation and glared at him.

Carson smirked and gave Fjord a righteous chop to the neck.

“Stop laughing.”

“Ack!”

As Fjord grabbed his throat and gagged, Jane continued to explain.

“The Seven Stars… no, I mean, of the wonders, I think Fjord was talking about the graduation trip.”

“There’s a secret about the graduation trip?”

Jane continued, looking a little reluctant.

“You do know that our academy’s graduation trip goes to the same place every year, right?”

…I didn’t know because I wasn’t interested. But I nodded as if I was aware.

“The weird thing is, no one knows the itinerary.”

“Huh?”

If they don’t know the schedule, they should at least know what to expect.

“Neither the graduates nor the professors tell us where we go or what we do when we get there.”

That’s very suspicious.

“Graduates?”

“Yeah. So I contacted some of the people I knew before I went back to school and asked them…”

Jane paused, momentarily scowling, then spoke up.

“He smiled and said it would be the best graduation trip ever.”

“…The best?”

“Yep. They were all singing its praises. The scenery, the sleeping quarters, the food, everything was perfect.”

Fjord, somewhat recovered, chimed in with Jane’s comments.

“That’s the most suspicious part. The fact that there were so many students, some of them noblemen, and not a single complaint.”

I shuddered. The more I listened, the more ominous I felt.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, because Fjord rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

“I also felt something was fishy, so I asked my senior if he wanted to go again, and he smiled meaningfully.”

“Whoa, that’s…”

We exchanged glances, unable to speak. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing.

‘Shouldn’t we be canceling our graduation trip by now?’

A heavy silence descended. The mood was tilting toward canceling the graduation trip.

It was Kun, who was not present, that broke the silence.

“Why are you all so sure it’s not going to be good before we even get there?”

I blinked at his sudden appearance and glanced at him.

“Did you hear that?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, I just have good ears.”

“Never mind, it wasn’t exactly a secret.”

I asked him a question to help him blend into the conversation.

“Kun, did you hear anything about the graduation trip?”

“I don’t know. But I guess I’ll find out when I get there.”

His answer drew a few chuckles, including mine.

“Aren’t you being too laid back?”

“…I heard escaping is in order of intellect.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to find out for myself.”

Kun said lazily, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Maybe the alumni are telling the truth. Even if they’re lying about how good it was, would the Academy starve its students or throw them to the demons?”

“Hmm.”

He had a point. At best, the facilities would be run-down, and the food would be tasteless.

Sensing that our minds were wandering, Kun drove in a final wedge.

“It’s one last chance to make memories. It’s not a long trip, and it’s only for one night, so it’s worth it, right?”

And he was absolutely right.

Coming from Kun, who must have been the most precious person in this room, I felt like I was being a bit of a prude.

All right, I decided.

“I’m going. After the graduation trip, it’s vacation, and after vacation, it’s graduation a week later, and it’s good to have at least one more memory in between, right?”

I was the first to express my willingness to participate, and the rest of the group leaned toward the affirmative.

“If Leen’s going, I’ll go too.”

“Yeah, do you think we should starve them like Kun said? It’s better if we just feed them grass, they’ll automatically go on a diet.”

“If they’re thrown to the demons, I’ll have to sell them a demon repellent on the spot.”

Fjord smirked and relaxed.

“Sure. Even if you’re terrible at it, it’s no worse than the quarterly training at the sword club.”

Satisfied that everyone was on board, I asked Fjord what I’d been wondering.

“So, I get the whole graduation trip thing, but what are the other wonders?”

“Well, one’s kind of famous, but we don’t have a student council president.”

“Right.”

If there was anything in particular that needed to be decided, the class representatives would meet to discuss it.

They could change their votes at any time, so in effect, no student held any power.

“But at graduation, there’s a guy who’s getting an achievement award as valedictorian.”

“Based on what?”

“No one knows, which is why it’s one of the Seven Wonders.”

“…This is where the true nature of Arena Academy is revealed.”

No other academy would be so accommodating to students. I guess there’s no such thing as a dirt-free organization after all.

Feeling a bit down then Fjord spoke with something a bit more hopeful.

“But it can’t be as bad as you think, because I don’t really know the criteria for selection.”

“Didn’t they have to be high ranking nobles or students from wealthy families?”

“No. It had nothing to do with status at all. It was usually awarded to the most popular student, but not exclusively, and sometimes the professor received the prize.”

What, where’s the ‘professor’ part of that?

“…I thought it was the Student Representative Achievement Award?”

“That’s the third time I’ve said it, so it’s the 7th Wonder of the Universe.”

Right. If they were easy to deduce, they wouldn’t be called wonders.

“What else?”

This time it was Jane’s turn to explain.

“The other ones aren’t even really wonders, they’re just unconfirmed rumors.”

“Like what?”

“The identity of the Arena Academy’s president, the cat liquid theory…”

That sounds like something completely unrelated to our academy.

“There are also rumors that this place was a cemetery before our academy was founded. Some kids claim to have seen the statue by the fountain come to life…”

Nodding, I guess it’s against the law to build a school on top of a cemetery.

“So what’s the last one?”

“How Professor George, the eccentric, and Professor Walter, the master of laziness, got along.”

Ahh… I knew how Professor George and Professor Walter became close.

Professor Walter told me that Professor George had been his homeroom teacher when he was a student.

So…

Following Arcandus’s advice, I kept my distance from Professor Walter. But Professor George was the closest to Professor Walter.

I felt uneasy. No, to be honest, I was worried.

All these years, I’ve managed to avoid returning to the Count’s estate on vacation. I was afraid that Rex Begonia would be waiting for me.

So there was nothing left to do. I used to help Professor George with his research during my vacations.

Maybe that’s why I’ve grown so fond of him.

After much grumbling and agonizing, I finally decided not to do anything.