friend chapter 25

If we’re together, we’ll just end up doing something ridiculous again. You’ll definitely tease me. 

“I hope I’m on the same team as Luna this time.” 

Jade, having drawn a blue stick, leaned her head on my shoulder. Stroking her hair, I agreed. I saw a red stick in Edward’s hand. Please let me get a blue one. Ugh, I’m too nervous to draw. 

“Would you like to go first?” I offered the turn to Cloud. He silently accepted, his long fingers pulling out a stick. Blue. 

“Congratulations. It seems we’re destined to be together forever.” “Haha. How embarrassing.” 

Embarrassing, my foot. Don’t say weird things! Even Cloud is looking at you with disdain! Ugh. “Well then, let’s begin. Take a lamp, just in case. Have a good time~” That annoying president. Vowing revenge someday, I picked up a lamp. We decided to split up at the entrance to search for the boxes. The deeper we went into the woods, the thicker the undergrowth became, so I kept my eyes wide, scanning carefully. Complete darkness had fallen, but the area around us was conspicuously bright. I swept the lamp back and forth, searching. Edward and I maintained a reasonable distance as we climbed. Whenever he subtly tried to get closer, I’d pretend to have spotted a box and dart off in a random direction. “Oh! I thought I saw something.” 

Of course, there was nothing there. Anyway, this guy is definitely enjoying my reaction. Just like when he kissed the back of my hand earlier. He’s playing around because I said I liked him. He’s quite malicious. I wonder when he’ll drop this act. Even if Edward isn’t as bad as I thought, I still couldn’t let my guard down. There’s no telling what might happen. I was also worried that he might become even darker. So, for the time being, I needed to keep up this act in front of Jade. My poor life. 

“Lumina, are you cold?” 

“No, I’m fine.” 

“You’re shivering.” 

I am cold. Actually, I’m freezing. Even with a cardigan and a blanket, I couldn’t withstand the mountain’s chill. The wind sliced across my cheeks like a blade. It stung. Yet, I pretended not to be cold because of Edward. He might offer me his jacket! Then he’d think I was falling for him, right? How annoying. I’m not falling for him at all! 

“Are you doing that because you’re afraid I’ll offer you my jacket?” 

“.…” 

Chills. How did he know? Silence is consent, they say. Edward’s lips curved into a one-sided, villainous smirk. I glanced at him to see what he was doing, and he was casting a spell. Soon, blue flames flickered and danced around me. It kind of looked like will-o’-the-wisps. The visuals were a bit strange, but I warmed up instantly. So warm. My expression softened involuntarily. 

“This is warmer than my jacket, right?” 

“…Thank you.” 

“That doesn’t mean I won’t give it to you.” 

Edward took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders. I tried to pull it away in surprise, but it was no use. It was already firmly attached with an adhesion spell. Damn it. 

“Why are you doing this to me?” 

“Because I don’t want you to be cold.” 

Why don’t you want me to be cold? Does he want me to burn to death instead of freezing? With the blanket, the jacket, and now the flames, I was starting to overheat. So now he’s resorting to this kind of torment? This won’t do. I needed to take drastic measures. “I’ll go search separately. I think that will be faster.” 

“No. It’s dangerous to go alone.” 

“I’ve staked my life on this competition. I can’t lose.” I declared dramatically. Suddenly, my life felt insignificant. 

“If you’re really worried, I’ll blow this.” 

I summoned a whistle. I put it to my lips and gave it a test blow. My ears nearly burst. After the performance test, Edward sighed. “Fine. But keep it in your mouth.” 

“Of courshe (Of course).” 

With a light step, I left Edward. I don’t know how far I walked. When I looked back, there wasn’t even a shadow of Edward. I’d tucked the whistle into my pocket. Since I’d made such a big deal about it, I needed to show some results. I drew heavily on my magic and used a gravity spell. It had quite a wide range.