I’m Not Doing This With A Friend – Chapter 99

Author: Nikss

Carson scanned the room as soon as he entered the party. He seemed to be looking for me.

I kept my gaze fixed on him, hoping to make it easier for him to find me.

It didn’t take long for him to spot me.

His blue eyes turned toward me. He stood there as if time had stopped, staring at me blankly.

I expected a reaction. Carson was more static than I expected.

Without stopping, I walked toward him. All I could see was him. The closer I got to him, the harder my heart began to pound.

‘It was always you who came to me first.’

I wonder if you felt the same excitement when you reached me.

After a short but long pause, I finally made it to him. I smiled the seductive smile I had practiced so many times.

“Hello, Caon.”

Carson’s face remained strangely unchanged. No sign of surprise. He didn’t even show any sign of blushing.

I waited calmly for him to make a move. This was a reaction that was within the expected range.

While I waited for him to break free of the petrification, I took the time to greet Fjord next to him.

“Hi, you too.”

“…You.”

Fjord looked at me with his mouth agape. He looked shocked. It’s kind of fun to watch other people’s reactions.

Fjord’s mouth twitched again several times before he finally managed to spit out a word.

“…Pretty.”

It was an unexpected response. I thought he was going to make fun of me or something. I giggled and laughed.

“Yeah. I guess I do look pretty.”

Fjord chewed on his lip, obviously upset by my confident response. But after a moment, he relaxed and smirked.

It was a little sheepish.

“Do you realize you look like a bride getting married today?”

To others, it also resembled a wedding dress.

“You noticed. That’s my concept for today.”

“Who’s the groom?”

He asked, in a tone playfully serious.

“I don’t know. If I don’t want my dress to go to waste, I’m going to have to seduce someone hard before the day is over.”

At that, Fjord put a hand on Carson’s shoulder, pulling his lips up in a grimace.

“What can I say, this statue doesn’t look like a man.”

“I didn’t say it was Caon.”

Fjord raised an eyebrow and said, “Oho, was there another groom besides this one, who?”

“Not you, at least.”

“I’m sorry to hear I’m eliminated before the dance even begins.”

“There were plenty of other girls besides me.”

Fjord’s eyebrows knit together in an exaggerated frown.

“How many years ago was that? There are women around me.”

Judging by the number of girls glancing his way even now, it wasn’t a very credible story.

I pretended I didn’t hear him and changed the subject.

“More than that, I think it’s about time Caon came to his senses.”

Fjord glanced at Carson and squinted.

“…You don’t think he’s likely going to be back today, given what you’ve planned?”

“No way.”

I patted Carson’s arm, hoping not.

“Caon.”

I tapped a few more times, but he didn’t budge.

“Caon?”

…Wait a minute.

How could a living, breathing human being be this immobile?

Something was going terribly wrong, I realized. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I reached out and put my fingers under Carson’s nose.

…Huh?

My head went white. I exclaimed, forgetting that this was a party.

“Oh my gosh! Caon’s not breathing!”

“What?”

“Hasn’t he been breathing the whole time, you’re crazy!”

Fjord slapped Carson across the cheek.

“Hey, Carson, wake up!”

On any other day, he would have used his magic to dispose of Fjord before he even touched him, but Carson was unyielding.

Fjord grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and shook him with a look of frantic exasperation.

“You’re insane, even if she is breathtakingly gorgeous, there’s no one in the world who doesn’t breathe!”

🍃

Leen thought she was perfectly prepared.

As expected, Jane’s skills were excellent, and the cover-up was a success.

Even Fjord, who was joking around with her, seemed to approve of the prank.

But there was one thing Leen had overlooked, and it was a big one…

She had not considered Carson’s lethal dose of ‘Leen’.

The temptation was too much. For Leen, of course, it was unfair.

I hadn’t even begun to seduce him yet, and what was I supposed to do if he collapsed at the sight of my face?

Leen was holding her head in her hands as Jane comforted her.

Fjord, who had taken Carson to the common room, had returned.

Leen hadn’t been able to join him in the common room because the men and women were separated.

Leen asked Fjord urgently, “Is Caon alright?”

“He’s alive, for now.”

“…What kind of condition is he in?”

Fjord pressed his thumb firmly between his brows, as if embarrassed to say it out loud.

“I managed to revive him, but the problem is, he had a puddle of nosebleeds as soon as he woke up.”

“A nosebleed?”

“Yep. He was wobbling around with a lot of blood on his face, all the while insisting on coming to see you.”

Leen felt a strange sense of déjà vu at this.

Carson, who would have gone on a rampage demanding to see her, and Fjord, who would have been furious with him for doing so.

The scene naturally played out in my head. It was as vivid as if I had witnessed it with my own eyes.

“But if you ever see him again, he’s either going to have a real heart attack or bleed to death, so I sold your name.”

“… Well done.”

Leen sensed that her plans had been firmly derailed.

‘How am I supposed to spend the night with him when he’s dying in front of me?’

That was my mistake. I thought I knew Carson well enough. I hadn’t expected him to react in this way.

“You’re in trouble, Fjord.”

“As always.”

Leen and Fjord looked at each other’s faces with such compassion that they sighed in unison.

The two comforted each other.

A few people here and there suggested that maybe a toast was in order. It wasn’t until after the toast that the party truly began.

This party was actually called a graduation party, not an alcohol party.

Students were encouraged to push their limits and learn how much they could drink together in a place where there was no need to be reserved.

It was all paid for by the academy, which made it all the more acceptable.

One by one, glasses were raised as the conversation began.

“Who wants to make a toast?”

“Really?”

Since the party was for students only, no one could stand up and make a toast.

Arena Academy didn’t even have a student representative.

“Fjord, why don’t you do it!”

“That’s great!”

“Fjord! Fjord!”

The consensus naturally fell on Fjord.

Blabber girl, the head of Leli-Club, crossed her arms and looked incredulous.

“What about Fjord, isn’t the toast supposed to be Leen, the one who won the graduation trip?”

“That’s right!”

“Leen! Leen!”

She was followed by the other members of the Leli-Club, and then the Fjolo-Club members’ eyes lit up.

“That’s it, and this one! Are we going to have another fight now?”

“If you don’t mind if I apply it like last time, then fight me.”

Sensing that things were about to get out of hand again, Leen decided to step in.

“Attention, everyone!”

All eyes turned to Leen.

The members of the Leli-Club team’s faces brightened, while the members of the Fjolo-Club team had a ‘let’s see what they’re talking about’ look on their faces.

Leen nods in satisfaction at the quieter room and leaves the cleanup to Hans.

“Hans will be the toastmaster.”

“What? Me?”

Leen mouthed the words to Hans, who looked at her in confusion.

‘The drug I’m working on is about to be finished, don’t you want it?’

‘I’ll show you the perfect toast.’

With a wink, Hans quickly turned smug and climbed up on the podium.

“Come on, let’s not fight on a good day.”

Hans laughed heartily, calming the heated atmosphere.

“I don’t think either Fjord or Leen have a toast prepared, so let’s not put any pressure on them.”

No one objected to the idea of Hans giving a toast.

He was an easy-going guy, and his friendships ran deep and wide. Hans had a good image. He was well-known in the academy for selling various things.

Leli-Club and Fjolo-Club’s members’ faces showed a hint of regret. But they didn’t speak up.

As Hans had said, it was something that Fjord and Leen might have felt pressured to do.

“Since no one seems to object, I’ll do it. All right, everyone, fill your glasses and get ready for a toast!”

At Hans’s words, the students raised their glasses.

He grins and explains, “When I say a toast, I’m going to say the first letter, and you’re going to say it with me.”

“For example?”

“I’ll say, ‘Best of Leen, best of Fjord!’ and you’ll say, ‘Best of Leen! Best of Fjord!’.”

At that, the other members narrowed their eyes.

“Why is Fjord behind Leen?”

“Ehey, I was just giving an example, let’s not be too sensitive.”

It was the kind of toast that only middle-aged men make. But it was a toast they hadn’t done much of, so they were all in favor of Hans’s proposal.

Hans stood tall on the podium with his glass filled to the brim.

“We’ve all been through a lot in the academy, and I hope that when we go out into the world, we work as little as possible and earn as much as possible!”

Hans said in a short toast, then raised his glass high in the air.

“Here’s to success, here’s to the future!”

“Here’s…!”

There was a moment of collective silence.

After a moment of embarrassment, I hastily tried to break the awkwardness with a backup chant.

“To the…!”

Silence again.

“Eh!”

“Get him out of here!”

Hans was dragged by several people to a corner of the party.

“Ow! I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

His pained screams echoed with the music in the background.