26. Exploiting a Minor
26. Exploiting a Minor
"Heading to work?"
"Not yet, just making breakfast."
"Yaaawn......."
I was still living with Vivian.
At least until the vacation ended, she was planning to stay at my place, and the vacation hadn't ended yet.
Naturally, my friend woke up in the morning.
Though if I had to be precise, she probably woke up because I got up and she heard noises outside the room.
"I'm making breakfast. Set the table."
"Yeah."
"I just threw together some risotto. Eat up... and what are you doing today?"
"Vacation's almost over, so I need to do things inside the Academy. I'm planning to contract a few carriages... oh, and there's some stuff to contract with the Academy, too."
"You can handle that yourself."
Anyway, there wasn't much difference from usual.
At least for my friend.
I had woken up earlier than my friend, washed up early, and had breakfast ready.
Because unlike a meeting, I actually had to go to work. And since I had to leave quite early in the morning, it was only natural.
But today, besides that, there was a reason I had to prepare from such an early hour.
"...What is it?"
"Because I have a guest."
"Huh?"
Just like that, a knock sounded while I was preparing breakfast.
Was this what it felt like when Noah came in while I was washing up last time?
Though compared to that time, this was a much more normal situation, right?
"Noah, you haven't eaten breakfast, right?"
"Yes."
"Eat breakfast, then let's do it. That's fine, right?"
"I'd actually be grateful for that."
"Then come in and eat comfortably. Vivian? Get one more spoon out."
"Uh... um......."
My friend was flustered.
But I decided not to pay it any mind.
Even if I said something, she clearly wouldn't understand it properly anyway.
I brushed off the flustered Vivian and started eating. I had made plenty of risotto since I knew he was coming... he was the guy who would be subjected to abuse disguised as training again this afternoon.
If he didn't eat a hearty breakfast, it would be tough for him in many ways.
"Take off your clothes while you eat."
"W-w-what!!!"
"...It's nothing weird. You, shut up."
"No matter how much I want to date, uh... a threesome is a bit......."
"It's not that, you crazy bitch."
I couldn't help but get serious.
I really didn't expect her to say something like that.
It was just a medical treatment, so when she spouted such nonsense... naturally, I was dumbfounded.
"It's because he has a wound on his back. It's a place he can't reach. I'm just helping him."
"You had a much bolder side than I thought!"
"...Haa."
Ignoring my friend's nonsense, I first started by checking the wound on Noah's back.
I unwrapped the bandage from yesterday, wiped off what needed wiping with cotton, and then applied a potion and ointment.
The wound was quite large, so naturally, I expected him to show some signs of pain... but he didn't.
Seeing him receive treatment so quietly... I suppose you could say it suits the Swordsmanship Department.
"Oh my, look at those muscles..."
"Just be quiet for a second. I'm wrapping the bandage."
"It's not like it's hard for you anyway, since you wrapped them so much back in your Adventurer days?"
"Still, I have to wrap it properly. If any discharge leaks out, it's bad for the clothes."
"Hmm......."
But like Vivian said, I had wrapped them often in the past.
It wasn't that difficult.
Rather, I easily wrapped the bandage, aligning it well with his shoulder joints, armpits, and shoulder blades.
"Nothing uncomfortable, right?"
"......You did an amazing job."
"Well, I've done it often."
"I don't think even the Academy infirmary has ever treated me this well."
"Then that's a relief."
It was a pretty big wound, but it wasn't to the point where he couldn't move at all.
First, I finished the treatment.
Then we ate a bit, and I heard more about that damn training.
The story that followed was much more... barbaric and violent than I thought, and I found out why the student had such a large wound on his back.
It was actually strange that he only had a wound on his back.
It was truly... absurdly barbaric.
"......."
"......."
To the point where even Vivian, who was listening with me, chose silence.
"Noah, your master... there's really something wrong with him, isn't there?"
"He's a normal person?"
"......Haa."
I couldn't tell if the kid was naive or if he was genuinely speaking his mind....
Even back when I attended the Academy, there were no teachers of that caliber.
Even so, a person who uses only a Gauntlet to protect the hands and wrists as protective gear, and only uses real swords for sparring?
Shouldn't that be impossible by common sense?
No matter if it's the Academy, and they are a student and teacher of the Swordsmanship Department, it was too dangerous and barbaric.
Especially in Noah's case, he's still just a 1st-year student.
Regardless of his talent or skill, I couldn't help but think it was something that shouldn't be done.
On top of that.......
"Starting from 2 PM to 7 PM, you two train in the training room unconditionally? Even during vacation?"
"Yes."
"......Vivian."
"Yeah......."
"Did we have a crazy professor like that back in our day?"
"We didn't, did we...?"
What kind of lunatic calls someone in during vacation to do this?
He says it's not abuse, but... no matter how I think about it, it's too much.
Making him exhausted every single day, only to be called in again the next day and overworked again.
"......Sigh."
"Uh...."
"Since you say you're fine. I guess it must be fine for now... I suppose. Yeah, what's the point of me saying anything? Would you even listen?"
Boys of that age usually have their own standards and a strong tendency to stick to them.
Even if I told him his master was problematic and he should report it to the Academy... he probably wouldn't care.
Anyway, it was true that he was one of the teachers who taught Noah, a student of commoner origin, diligently, so he probably thought of him as someone to be grateful for.
I felt like I knew what that feeling was.
That's why it was frustrating.
And absurd.
"Sigh, sigh......."
"But he's really not a bad person. He's skilled in Swordsmanship, and he's kind, too."
"......Yeah, I suppose so."
Maybe he'll realize it a little only after he's been overworked to his absolute limit, to the point where he can't endure anymore.
He's still a kid.
It was inevitable that it would be hard to make him understand anything other than through physical experience.
"Still, be careful about getting wounds on your body. If you get scars later, it'll be a big deal. Small wounds are one thing, but if you don't treat big wounds like this quickly, the scars end up bigger than you'd think, and they're unsightly."
"Yes, Noona."
"And if you train in the afternoon, you'll sweat a lot. You have to change the bandage and apply the medicine. You remember that, right?"
"Yes, I remember."
He answers so well.
I just sighed while looking at the kid nodding obediently.
Somehow, another guest had come into the house since the morning, but as always, I had to go to work, and unlike usual, I had to go to the Academy annex warehouse from the morning.
Since the start of the semester was slowly approaching.
It was good to prepare new ice cream in preparation for the still-hot weather, and I had to stock up on drinks that were popular in early summer.
"You can move these, right?"
"It's light."
"Really? Then could you carry just this much more? I think I can move the rest."
"Give me all of those too. I'm going to put them on a cart to move them anyway. They aren't that heavy."
"Ohh...."
In exchange for treating him, I started exploiting a minor.
I didn't exactly force him.
After I finished the treatment, while we were having a short conversation as I was heading to work, he volunteered to help.
"Be careful not to reopen your wound for no reason."
"That's going to reopen during training anyway, so wouldn't it be fine?"
"...Don't talk nonsense, just be careful in your daily life."
"Yes."
Anyway... that's how I was able to handle my morning tasks simply with Noah's help.
Actually, except for moving items from the annex to the Convenience Store, it wasn't that difficult.
After that, it was just organizing inventory and adjusting the temperatures of the fridge and freezer.
"Hmm.... This is my first time seeing you work from the moment you leave the house until the Convenience Store opens. It's kind of fun."
"...This?"
"Yes, I didn't really know how a store was run. I've helped move luggage from the warehouse before, but I've never seen you do it one by one like this, right? I always just snuck into Noona's break room."
"So you were aware of it?"
He was the guy who always came to the Convenience Store, used the break room to his heart's content, and then left.
Naturally, he had to be aware that he was using it like that.
Of course, there were times he'd go in and rest briefly while I was working, and when I was resting, he'd just sit alone at the edge of the bed.
That was it.
He never did anything weirder than that.
If he had done that in the first place... I would have seriously frozen him, thrown him somewhere in the Academy where no one goes, and left him there, though?
That's why I didn't really think Noah was rude.
Although he does weird things sometimes.
It was never really that serious.
"If there's anything I can help with next time, I'll help you like this again."
"Will you?"
"Yes, since I'm always just receiving help. I want to be of help, even with things like this."
...I did briefly wonder if I had ever given this kid anything you could call help.
Right now, I even bandaged his shoulder.
Plus, during exam periods, I gave him all sorts of help.......
I guess I did, huh?
"Is that okay?"
"Do whatever you want. It's not like I'm going to make you do anything that difficult anyway. Just come by and help when you're bored. It's comfortable for me, and it's a gain."
So I just accepted.
If I refused this, he would have felt burdened by that anyway.
That's how the kid named Noah, whom I've known until now, was.
There's no reason for kids to feel burdened by receiving help from adults, but that's just how the kid Noah was.