24. Noble Girl

Just because I was a man in my past life didn't mean I had to have a foul mouth or spit out nasty words.

And just because I've been living as a woman... didn't mean I had to be overly sweet, either.

But I was an adult, and since I had to make money off kids much younger than me, I generally tried to keep things somewhat dignified.

Even in the case of Noah, one of the students who comes to find me, I'd never treated him roughly.

"It's definitely hot today. Phew...."

"......."

"Don't you guys think so too? I'm a Snow Woman, so maybe I feel it more than others, but it's still plenty hot, right?"

At first, I was a little annoyed by the blonde student's rude remarks.

But I decided to handle it the adult way.

Anyway, she's just a teenage girl under 20.

Aside from having absolutely no manners, she was still a kid who was way out of her league when it came to a real verbal sparring match against an adult.

"Noah, should I cool you down like last time?"

"...That thing from last time?"

"Yeah, want me to?"

"......If you're willing to do it, it's comfortable for me. But it's not that far to the restaurant, is it?"

"Still, it's better to get there feeling a bit cooler. Ah, should I do it for you too, student Katrina? I'm sure it'll feel refreshing."

"No, I don't need it."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Pride is one of the essential requirements for a noble.

Having met quite a few nobles, I'd rarely seen any without pride; in fact, I'd met far more who were bursting with it.

Even if they claimed not to have it, they always had a sense of belonging and pride regarding their family.

The girl right now was just the same.

And as always, such opponents crumbled easily in situations where they couldn't exercise their pride.

I... had known that for quite a long time.

"Then Noah, could you come here for a second?"

"Yes."

"I'll make you feel cool like last time, so just stay still, okay?"

"...Yes."

On top of that, it was obvious she was a girl who had feelings for Noah, and screwing with a girl like that was quite easy.

Of course, doing this might be using the boy's feelings.

But it really was hot, after all.

Standing in front of Noah, who was standing still, and breathing out a light breath infused with mana to make him nice and cool... wouldn't that be fine?

"......."

"Should I do it for you too, student Katrina?"

"......I said forget it."

"Really? It's so hot out, are you sure? You're wearing such pretty clothes, you're bound to sweat a lot. A girl sweating is.... not good, is it?"

That was that, and I continued talking to the girl who had been rude to me while cooling Noah down.

In truth, I was also quite hot and wanted to head straight to the restaurant.

But I wanted to get some revenge for her putting me in a bad mood.

"...I said forget it."

"Hehe, then shall we head off to the restaurant again?"

Actually, I hadn't planned on leaving the Convenience Store like this.

I was just going to stay as usual and settle for a cup of noodles, and after Noah visited, I was going to have a casual chat.

But somehow... it ended up like this.

"It's just a simple pasta place, but it's okay, right? My treat."

"Yes, it's fine."

"Hmph.... Nothing special."

"It'll still be tastier than the pasta you ate at home last time, Noah."

"...Home?"

"The pasta I ate then was delicious too."

"Pfft, really?"

I finished ordering while also taking the time to poke at the girl who was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠11 years younger than me.

It was a really ordinary pasta place, so ordering wasn't that difficult. Besides, for a guy like Noah, as long as the portion was big, that would be enough.

Considering he ate my mediocre cooking deliciously, that would definitely be the case.

"By the way, student Katrina, are you in the same grade as Noah?"

"...And if I am?"

"It's just that I haven't seen Noah's 'friends' that often. The friend named Iris I met last time was cute. Hehe."

"......."

She was a girl with feelings for Noah, and it seemed like she met Noah quite often.

I decided to properly show the experience of a 28-year-old auntie, the scariness of that experience.

If I was going to do it, I had to do it right, didn't I?

If I responded vaguely, this noble brat would clearly look down on me and treat me rudely again.

"Ah, would Iris know about this?"

"We meet sometimes when we have classes."

"Aha, the academy kids have joint classes these days, right?"

"Iris is in the same class as me, and Katrina is in a different class, so we don't meet that often, but since our departments are in the same field, we do see each other quite a bit."

"Hmm, I see."

The girl named Katrina was glaring at me silently, but I ignored that and continued the conversation with Noah.

By the way, because of the childhood friend position, her True Wife Potential was significant.

Beyond being a hometown friend or a childhood friend, they were even in the same class?

I didn't really know anything about Noah's friends, and I wasn't that interested, so I didn't know.

It was funny how I found out like this.

Judging by her appearance—though one shouldn't judge everything by appearance—given the delicate look of the girl named Iris, she must be in the Natural Magic Department, right?

"What department is student Katrina in?"

"...Spear Arts."

"Aha, Spear Arts? That definitely suits you. It's great that the basics are much simpler than Swordsmanship while still being practical. It's not like magic where it's hard to learn, either."

"......."

It was a very, very slight jab.

A remark implying that since it was easier than the magic Iris learned or Noah's Swordsmanship, even stupid kids could do it.

I didn't twist it any further, as it felt like the atmosphere would genuinely turn sour.

"...Coming from the owner, it sounds ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like you've attended the academy before. What department were you in?"

"Hmm, me? I was in the Natural Magic Department. Being a Snow Woman, I naturally had a good talent for ice-related magic, so I entered and graduated from there."

"......."

Even though I'm living as a Convenience Store owner at the academy now, I had pretty solid specs, so I continued speaking naturally and confidently.

In truth, I'm just a person living a normal life.

Even though she's a noble, there was nothing I lost to a kid who hadn't achieved anything with her own hands yet.

Of course, the female student who was being really rude to me was pretty enough and came from a good family.

It's not narcissism, but I genuinely have confidence in my looks.

"Noah, how is it?"

"It's delicious. The place I went with Nuna last time was good too, but this place is good in its own way, so I like it."

"Pfft, is that so?"

Aside from taking small revenge on the rude blonde, I continued to eat and chat normally.

Among the many conversations, the poking parts were actually just a fraction.

Generally, we were just having a normal conversation.

Actually, since we were talking normally, I didn't really care about Katrina's remarks poking at me anymore.

"......."

"Why?"

"...Hmph."

Maybe it was because she kept poking at me and now she had gone quiet?

Neither I nor the primary aggressor, Katrina, were saying much.

Instead, Katrina was just glaring at me.

Of course, besides glaring, she was also furrowing her brows hard and gritting her teeth as if she was in a bad mood...?

"Nuna, I'll be right back...."

"The bathroom? Sure, go ahead. Take your time."

"......Yes."

Then Noah left his seat for a moment, and it was just the two of us again.

Even with Iris, one of the friends I met earlier, this kind of situation didn't happen.

But somehow, this situation was created with a very rude girl.

Talking to rude bitches was a specialty of mine, so it wasn't a big problem, but?

"Pfft......."

"Why are you laughing?"

Maybe it was because I thought that, a laugh escaped me without me realizing it.

It wasn't mocking.

Just a laugh because it was funny.

"Wouldn't it be funny if it were you? In this situation?"

"......."

"You show too much on your face. You can't hide your expressions at all, so what you're thinking, what you're feeling. It's all showing."

In Noah's case, he was just cute.

He wasn't doing anything bad to me.

If anything, he was often walking on eggshells around me.

But unlike Noah, Katrina was hostile toward me.

But continuing this kind of relationship would be troublesome in many ways.

For me, and for this girl, it would be easier to fight a bit and then end it, right?

A bit of advice, a bit of nagging.......

"Since you're a noble, you might have been able to do whatever you wanted without reading the room when you were with your peers. But you shouldn't look down on an adult so easily, you know?"

"......What are you saying."

"You have the boy you like right in front of you, you shouldn't keep acting so irritable, either."

"......What?"

"If it were Iris, she would have probably hidden those feelings and acted cute or played coy. If you show that you're openly annoyed and hate me, what kind of boy would like that?"

I decided to clearly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠establish the difference in rank.

It felt like an extension of what I was doing, actually.

But I didn't want to keep being addressed informally, so.

"When you're in front of an adult, you should be polite, use honorifics, and show respect. Hmm? Are you planning to talk to your future boyfriend's parents with that kind of informal speech, too?"

"......."

"Ah, of course, if you want to... have the boy you like, whom you've known for 17 years, stolen by a girl who is much cuter and has a kinder personality.... then you can do that."

"...What are you trying to say?"

"Informal speech?"

"......What are you trying to say, ma'am."

As expected, rude nobles—especially the young ones with dirty strong egos—are always the same.

I felt another laugh coming on.

I didn't really hold it back.

"Hmm, just because? I'm just giving you some advice as an adult."

"......."

"Because I know better than you, at least."

I haven't really dated, but I had a time when I was a man, after all.

How simple and straightforward a man's tastes can be sometimes.

I knew it well.

Of course, the noble girl in front of me, who is still young, immature, and only has her family and herself, wouldn't know that.

"...What should I do, ma'am."

"What are you two talking about?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Here, student Katrina said she would pay instead, but I just refused. I'm an adult, I can't let kids do that."

"Aha......."

"......."

I was about to say this and that, but Noah came back just in time.

I naturally started talking to Noah again.

While brushing off the noble girl who was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rude but whose thoughts and feelings were so intuitively obvious.