I’m Not Doing This With A Friend

✿

"Oh, you know that's not what I mean."

I shrugged and hugged the dog-bird and went close to Hans.

"Look carefully. Does such a cute child look ominous?"

The dog-bird licked my cheeks and made a squeaking noise. It was like a gentle puppy.

At that, Hans made a shriveled expression and a strange noise.

"Ugh. It's cute."

It was then that the dog-bird, focusing on licking my cheek, found Hans and began to bark fiercely.

"Roar, woof! Woof! Roar! Grr!! Grr! Growl."

"Uhh!"

Surprised, Hans quickly distanced and ran away.

"You said it's safe!"

"…Huh? Why are you doing this? You were quiet in front of Jane."

It was fortunate that I was holding it tightly so that the dog-bird wouldn't run away. The dog-bird was about to bite him at any moment.

Leen's brows furrowed and spoke sternly to the dog-bird.

"Hey! You're not trying to bite people right? Hans was okay because he's a good bastard, but if you got caught by another student, you could've died. That's what humans are like, monsters."

"Good bastard… Was that a curse or a compliment?"

I decided to save my words for him and lowered my gaze.

After a while, with the bench at the front, Hans glanced at the dog-bird and spoke carefully.

"But was it really a dog? It's appearance and teeth look like something more than a puppy…"

"You're right. It's hard to say it's a perfect dog. If I had to count the species… it does look like a dog-bird."

Hans' expression darkened.

"Why don't you just name it instead of calling it with misleading words?"

Well… It wasn't a bad idea.

Until now, I thought it'd be a short relationship, so I did not give it a name.

But now that I've become very close to it, and seeing that he survived so far, I don't think it'll die any time soon.

I don't think there's anyone other than this dog-bird who would visit me. It would be alright if I named it, right?

Let's see…

I put together several words in my head for a moment. Then a name comes to mind.

"Ah. How about Dobby?"

He poked his head out as if intrigued.

"What does the name mean?"

Meaning? There's no such thing.

"It has a pretty tone. And it's a name that makes one feel free."

"I don't know if that's what the name sounds like, but I'm sure it's free because it has wings."

Having even obtained Hans' consent, I raised the dog-bird, which was named as of today.

The dog-bird that climbed high instinctively flapped its wings. I laughed out loud at the cute sight.

I cleared my voice and spoke to the dog-bird who didn't understand anything.

"Your name's Dobby from now on."

✿

The hallway on the 4th floor of Building D, where students rarely come.

It was a place where it would be difficult to see a single passer-by normally.

But today, for some reason, two students who climbed the stairs at either end of the hallway walked down.

Thump, thumpㅡ

It was when the two students were about to cross the middle.

Suddenly, one student slapped another student on the shoulder. It's a quiet hallway, so it was difficult to accidentally bump into by mistake.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay."

Fortunately or unfortunately, the student who shrugged quickly apologized, and the other student also accepted the apology without showing a sign of displeasure.

Then the two pass by as if nothing happened. The pockets they were holding in their hands were suddenly reversed.

Satisfied smiles spread across the lips of the two students who checked their pockets as they walked.

✿

At the same time. Deep inside the academy garden.

This was also one of the places that people rarely go to. Since the academy was so large, there were many secret places to meet.

A student with his face covered with a black mask urged the brown-haired student.

"What about the money?"

"Here."

The brown-haired student showed the pocket in his hand and asked back.

"What about the item?"

"Don't you know the rumor about us? How could I live on this floor without credit? Of course I brought it. Shall we start the deal?"

The masked student put his hand inside the cape and pulled out a pocket containing an object.

As soon as the brunette saw the pocket he had pulled out, he snatched it away.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

The masked student smiled and took the pocket that was in the hand of the brown-haired student.

"The amount is…"

He shook the pocket. There was a rattling sound of coins colliding with each other.

"I think you brought it roughly."

It was when the masked student smiled contentedly. A student who was looking out in the grass suddenly shouted.

"It's the leader, run now!"

"Oh, my!"

He started running fast with the student who shouted while biting his lips. It was a quick judgment and response to the situation as if it had happened once or twice.

In an instant, the brown-haired student, who was left alone, stuttered and ran after him.

After a while, some of the leading students followed behind them.

"There it is!"

"Hold it!"

The brown-haired student who was running late looked behind.

"Oh my!"

"If I knew this would happen, I shouldn't have looked back!"

With a short regret, the student clenched his teeth and spurs.

Fortunately, he was confident in running.

…As soon as I thought of that, I heard a magic starter from behind.

"Hold it!"

It was a magic that blocked movement for a short time.

"Argh! Magic is cheating!"

Eventually, the student with brown hair was caught by the leader.

"Hehehe…"

The leader of the student council, who had been chasing with the most bitter eyes, laughed.

It was a gloomy smile that anyone could think of as a villain.

"Finally, we caught the person involved in the illegal transaction that's actively traded within the academy these days."

"It's a pity we couldn't catch the seller."

At the words of the same leading student, the other student also briefly clicked his tongue as if disappointed.

"Still, it seems that the transaction has already ended, so if we confiscate and check it, we'll be able to find out about the goods."

Then the brown-haired student shook his head desperately in tears.

"I mean, I barely bought this with my pocket money for a few years! Without it, I would…!"

"Shut up. We just did what we had to do."

The leader of the student council searched through brown-haired clothes and took out a pocket.

"This is it."

"No!"

Ignoring the desperate cry, the other student opened the pocket and put his hand in.

And what came out of it…

"What's this?"

A clear liquid in a small vial the size of a finger.

It was a sweat suppressant manufactured by Leen.

✿

The weather was chilly even though I took out my winter clothes.

Since there are hardwood trees all over the academy, around this time of the year, many students come to see the colored leaves.

Leen was also no exception, her attention was drawn to the fallen leaves that flew like snow.

‘Tsk. When would we get rid of all that?‘

Rather than emotionally thinking that the autumn leaves are pretty, she was thinking of the reality.

Leen took a leisurely step, letting her hair flutter in the wind behind her back.

She was about to return to the dormitory after handing Hans the sweat suppressant. It was the last stock she had.

It was made from all the Dao Tranto colonies that I discovered the other day, so in order to produce more, I had to search through the mountains and find medicinal herbs.

"…It's annoying."

Even if I liked medicinal herbs, I couldn't help but lose interest in producing the same medicine by holding on to only one type.

‘My heart may change after seeing the money coming in.'

However, now that I haven't been paid yet, I have no intention of making more.

When I was about to arrive at the dormitory with that thought or another, I suddenly remembered the conversation I heard in today's class.

-‘…Can I buy it with the money I have when the supplies are released some time later?'

-‘Arthur. I heard you can't get one even if you have money these days.'

-‘Arghh! I'm the one who really needs that medicine!'

-‘I'm not as desperate as you, but everyone lives because they need it. If I had the money and could get it, I would have bought it.'

-‘It's because everyone hasn't been in my position! Do you know how I feel everytime I high-five with the back of my hand?'

-‘Then go to the producer and beg for a bottle.'

-‘Say something that makes sense.'

It was obviously about the sweat suppressant I made.

"The girl who said she needed medicine… must have been the girl who lived in the door next to me, right? Was her name Nancy?"

It seems that the child also had hyperhidrosis. Although the symptoms may not be as severe as Kun.

Leen rolled a bottle of sweat suppressant from her hand just in case.

‘I'm not even close to her, but maybe?'

But the worries were short-lived.

"A favor like this would be fine."

Leen put a sweat suppressant medicine down at the door of her dormitory.

Then after knocking a couple of times and before the door opened, she went right inside the dormitory.

However, there was a person who witnessed everything from the moment Leen put the medicine in front of the door to entering the dormitory.

"… Leen?"

Nancy blinked and picked up the bottle that Leen had left behind.

"Gasp!"

The glass bottle, which looked quite luxurious, had the words ‘Sweat Suppressant' written on it.

Even the cleverly written explanation of the bottle was the same as the sweat suppressant that she had so desperately wanted.

Nancy was so startled that her mouth opened, looking at the door of Leen's dormitory, which she had already entered.

"Is this real?"

In a way, it was natural to have doubts at first.

It's because the medicine was so popular that there were frequent fraudulent activities as others sold just water.

"How the hell did Leen get this? No, aside from that, why was this precious thing… to me…?"

It was as Nancy looked confused as she alternated between the vial and Leen's dormitory door.

After hearing Leen's knock, Nancy's roommate opened the door and came out.

"What? Was it you, Nancy? Did you lose your key?"

"No, that's not it…"

Nancy's roommate, who questionably raised an eyebrow and asked, saw the medicine bottle in her hand.

"Wow! Wasn't that a sweat suppressant? How did you get that?!"

Only then did Nancy come to her senses and look around. There was no one but herself and her roommate.

She put her index finger on her lips and hissed at her to be quiet.

Then, she shoved her roommate, who was standing blankly and went inside.

Nancy's roommate trembled as if she didn't understand.

"What's wrong? Oh! Are you that careful because you got it through a secret route? It's okay. I know you're all just shush in front of me and got it on that route."

‘That's not it… ‘

Nancy held the glass bottle tightly in her hand and wondered if it was right to reveal what she saw.

My roommate liked to tell others the information she had seen and heard.

…It's bad to gossip. Therefore, in front of her, I needed to be careful with my words.