72. Business Between Us
“Um… um… Manager, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just a slight cough. If I eat a bowl of warm gukbap tonight, I should be good.”
“……Really?”
“Yes, really. You don’t have to worry about it.”
…So I guess I really am just a normal office worker?
On top of that, I knew my body was optimized for desk work, so even though I looked perfectly healthy, I couldn’t exactly call myself a picture of vitality.
Ever since Saran found out about my cold…
The two of them had been repeating their concerns about me nonstop.
It wasn’t like my condition was anything life-threatening. It was actually mild enough that I was still fine.
Of course, I knew most sick people convince themselves they’re okay, but even so…
Even accounting for that, it definitely wasn’t bad enough to be a real problem.
“A temperature of 37.3 degrees.”
“…You know the exact number?”
“Roughly.”
…You mentioned a specific number and then said you roughly know the temperature. How exactly are you supposed to approach that?
Of course, Saran wasn’t particularly skilled with words.
She tended to be blunt and vague in her speech.
It was perfectly understandable.
But… if it goes over 37, you can’t help but worry a little.
“…Tsk.”
“It’s really nothing. My head doesn’t hurt and it’s just a runny nose. You don’t have to worry too much.”
“…Okay.”
But Saran saying that wasn’t just because I had caught a cold.
It was probably because I had caught it while helping Baek Eun-hwa.
I had been helping the fox girl who caught a cold like it was nothing, and Saran had been watching the whole thing.
From her perspective, it must have been incredibly frustrating to see me like that.
“Eun-hwa is really doing better now. And it’s not like the time with Eun-hwa where it got serious, right? It’s not a real cold or flu, just a normal runny nose…”
“I know.”
“…Did you catch it from someone else?”
“…Ah.”
…Thinking about it now.
I hadn’t told Batori anything.
It made sense, since Saran and Baek Eun-hwa had been the ones who ran into me first.
It had happened on a completely ordinary day for Batori, and that was how I ended up catching a cold.
In this situation, Batori who had been quietly worrying about me would obviously be shocked.
“Um…”
…No choice but to explain.
Mentoring was already over anyway, right?
Before the two of them went outside, I told Batori what had happened a few days ago.
It wasn’t a big deal.
The hero training room underground was empty except for us, so there was no issue.
“……”
“Hoo, really, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry. It’s obviously not that bad.”
“I’m still worried…”
“I’m grateful you’re worried, but I’m really fine. I’m wearing a mask right now, and on my way home I’ll buy some cold medicine.”
“Ye… yes…”
Batori was a friend who had grown a lot through me.
I had helped her a lot, cheered her on, and kept in touch even if it wasn’t full dependency.
So when I suddenly told her I caught a cold while playing with a real sick person, it must have been a shock.
I never told her through any messages, and now hearing it from someone else out of the blue…
No way she’d be happy about it.
“Hoo, thank you for worrying.”
“…Don’t get sick, Manager.”
“Huu…”
After the cheering stopped and sparring ended, a little time had passed, and seeing the now-smaller Batori looking up at me with concern was strangely amusing.
I finally understood why people loved meeting younger girlfriends.
Well, it wasn’t because she was shorter… but the way she spoke politely and carefully, all those little things made her adorable.
“Huhuhu…”
I couldn’t help smiling.
Anyway, after exchanging that kind of talk, we left the association building.
Sparring had ended a while ago… and we didn’t need the training room to talk about mentoring.
Plus, after hours of fighting and giving feedback, Batori and Saran probably needed a break too.
We stepped into a nearby café to catch our breath and chat.
“Huu… it’s refreshing. It still feels like summer, so it’s pretty hot outside.”
“I’m wearing thick clothes.”
“It’s a cold. It’s better to dress a little warm than too lightly. I usually dress warmly anyway.”
Even though it was summer, the café served hot tea instead of iced.
After ordering, I sank into the chair.
Honestly, the only thing I had done that day was walk to the association, sit down, and cheer. It was really nothing.
But… still a cold.
My body felt a little heavier than usual.
More than during my period…?
No, compared to my period, it was actually much better.
I rarely showed it to others, but my period made me hurt like hell…
If I had been a woman since my previous life, I would have been used to it for twenty years…
Unfortunately, because I was a man before, it was a huge struggle to get used to, and every time it happened I felt a pang of regret for my old life.
“Huu…”
“Are you okay…?”
“Ah, I’m fine. It’s just that the cushion is super soft and it feels really comfortable.”
“Ahaha…”
“Don’t worry too much. Drink some iced tea and rest. You seemed to push yourself harder than usual during mentoring today.”
“Yes, yes…!”
…Of course, I personally didn’t dislike my current body or appearance at all.
I wasn’t just about being a man turned into a woman; I could easily and greatly attract people with this appearance.
Plus, living like this was actually pretty fun?
After setting aside the small problems from my childhood, there was definitely something enjoyable about it.
“Saran-nim, how do you think Batori is doing lately?”
“Um… she’s getting more used to fighting. Much more than before.”
“Wow…”
“Before, she showed no familiarity with fighting or dangerous situations. Now she’s improving in those areas.”
“Ohho…”
Anyway, today was a mentoring day, right?
After all this time, the reason we were still mentoring was to help Batori grow, and then to help Saran get comfortable talking to normal people.
We naturally started talking.
“People instinctively react when their vital points are attacked. They close their eyes, flinch, and curl up to protect themselves…”
“Of course.”
“But when you’re a hero, you can’t let that kind of reaction happen in dangerous situations.”
“Um…?”
“You have to stay calm no matter what, suppress the villain, and protect the citizens.”
“So you need to get used to vital points and dangerous situations as much as possible, and make the right judgment according to the situation. From evading attacks to following up after blocking them…”
Saran’s stories were surprisingly interesting to me.
Separate from working in the hero industry.
It was hard for me to know in detail how heroes actually thought and acted in the field.
“Really interesting stories.”
“…Right?”
“When I talk to Saran-nim, I hear stories I’m not familiar with, and they’re really fascinating. Especially things that even people in the industry don’t know. That’s fascinating.”
“…Not that it’s particularly unusual.”
Is that so?
Saran telling me stories that were quite unusual in their own way.
The hero industry had become popular recently, but information about the inside was still not widely known.
“Fun?”
“Yes, it’s fun.”
“…I see.”
Hearing stories that help Batori and the detailed stories of heroes I didn’t know was fun.
Psychological counseling and problem-solving stories were also pretty different.
I was confident that anyone working in the hero industry would find them interesting… so I turned my head slightly toward Batori sitting next to me.
“Batori, do you have any questions for Saran-nim? Nothing?”
“……”
“Batori?”
“Ah, yes? What did you say…?”
…So I naturally asked Batori.
She had a slightly heavier gaze than usual, looking like she was deep in thought, and didn’t fully hear my words.
Was she replaying the mentoring content?
She was staring straight at me.
That wasn’t it either?
There were a lot of strange things about it, but…
“I was asking if you had any questions for Saran-nim. We should start thinking about C-rank promotion soon, right? It’s still a little far, but I thought there might be something you want to know about becoming a C-rank hero.”
“Ah, th-that’s true, but I’m still focusing on getting to C-rank…!”
The goblin’s answer to my question felt really good.
Batori was now really close to C-rank.
Instead of getting comfortable with that, she had a clear focus on her goal, which felt incredibly praiseworthy.
“Waa… really good attitude?”
“Th-that’s… I just thought that because I was busy… I guess…”
“Hoo, even if Batori thinks that, it’s really good that you think that way.”
Our little goblin had become so proud.
At first, she had almost no self-esteem and couldn’t even make eye contact during basic conversations.
It was amazing how far she had come.
“……”
“……”
It had been about a month since mentoring started.
I thought Saran and Batori had become quite close compared to before, and that they would at least chat a little.
Inside the training room, we talked about all kinds of things.
“……?”
But after coming out of the training room, they had never been seen talking to each other, and it felt strangely odd when I spoke and they responded.
…Of course, maybe they were just in a strictly business relationship and had no personal connection.
“Hic.”
It was a little hard for me to understand.
“……”
“……..”
For some reason, they kept staring at each other a lot.
Why didn’t they just talk more easily?
I wished they would all get along better.