27. Reasons for Being Unable to Date
27. Reasons for Being Unable to Date
As the vacation was slowly coming to an end, students were naturally starting to return to the Academy one by one.
Not the kids who came back early like Noah.
The kids who spent their vacation normally.
Naturally, the work at the Convenience Store started to pile up again.
It was still summer, and since everyone naturally hated the heat, they were flooding in to buy ice cream or drinks.
"Yaaawn...."
So, naturally, it was getting annoying.
Even though I'd gotten used to living like this for quite a while now, annoying is still annoying.
Of course, this annoyance would probably fade in a few days once I properly adjusted back into the rhythm.
"That'll be 17 Cooper."
"Ah, wait a second.... It's been a while since I've opened my wallet...."
"Yes."
Even though I said it was annoying, I had no intention of quitting the job. When I thought about my money piling up in the bank vault, I was actually happy.
Because in this life, I plan to live a thin, comfortable, and long life.
My previous life was quite intense, busy, and difficult enough just to take care of myself, so I had absolutely no complaints about this kind of life.
I come out quite early in the morning, but the labor itself wasn't actually that hard, and I didn't get off work too late either.
"......."
Being a boss is a pretty sweet gig, huh?
Of course, I was quite busy before I opened the Convenience Store here in the Academy.
It was pretty intense after I graduated from the Academy, though.
Compared to back then, thinking about now, it was truly comfortable and nice.
"Skadi, are you busy?"
"What brings you to the Convenience Store at this hour?"
"Didn't I tell you? I have some things to contract with the Academy. I stopped by while handling that."
That was the friend who showed up after I had been repeating the cycle of greeting customers, calculating, and sitting in my chair to rest.
Unlike the lazy, loungewear-type pajamas she wore at my place, seeing her in her basic skin—white pants, a white shirt, and a red jacket—it was clear she had come out for work.
After all, if it wasn't for work, she was the type of woman who would wear something... a bit more youthful than those clothes.
That damn red jacket.
No, that bitch's red jacket feels incredibly old-fashioned, but since she says it's her personal taste.
I'd sort of understood it since our Academy days.
Originally, everyone has their own tastes, and unless that taste is at a truly serious level, it's better to understand it in your own way, right?
"How did the contract go? Did it go well?"
"Ah, that? Well, obviously it went well?"
"Is that so."
I didn't have any particular thoughts on it.
After all, she was a noble young lady who was doing much better and making much more money than me, running a small Convenience Store?
Though "young lady" might not be the right age-appropriate term anymore, it was a fact that she was a noble family member and the boss of a business that made a ton of money.
"Go grab an ice cream and eat it."
"Oh, shall I?"
"If you're hot, you eat one. Besides, all the products here are supplied by your company anyway."
"That is true. Are ice cream sales okay these days?"
"It's just that there are fewer students because of the vacation. It hasn't dropped compared to last year. If anything, the summer is a bit hotter than last year, so I think it might have sold a little more."
"Hmm... It might be a good idea to think about a new product for next summer."
Anyway, that Vivian pulled over a chair from the break room and started chatting with me while eating ice cream right next to me.
It seemed she didn't have any other schedule at the Academy today.
That was probably why she was staying at my place in the first place.
Actually, she's a woman who could easily rent a house much bigger and better than mine, and could afford to live anywhere... the only reason she insisted on staying at my place was obvious.
"Huuu."
"Eek!?"
"...You react like such a total idiot."
"No, didn't you startle me first?"
"I was just bored, so I tried it. Why?"
"...Is it because you've been hanging out with a young boy lately? You feel even more childish than back in our Academy days."
"...Should I do it again?"
"......No, thank you?"
As much as I provide a cool house every day, this much of a prank is fine.
Actually, I probably shouldn't be doing this to the boss... no, the Chairwoman who supplies products to the Convenience Store every time, but?
We're friends.
It shouldn't really matter.
To begin with, Vivian was a different breed from most nobles, and it was true that the atmosphere between us was relatively light.
Of course, I wouldn't do this to someone I wasn't close with.
"Hmm.... No matter how I think about it, I wonder if it's really possible to go 28 years without dating even once in your life."
"Are you picking a fight?"
"It's not a fight. It's just that for the first time in a while, I thought, aren't you not exactly someone who would lose out to other women?"
"Finally, you're acknowledging my greatness after all this time?! You only did that when you were helping me open the Convenience Store and doing the legwork for contracts. What's gotten into you?"
"......Sigh."
I shouldn't have said anything.
Anyway, it was truly fascinating.
It wasn't like her appearance was bad, nor was her voice unpleasant because she had a few hamburgers stuck in her throat, and her personality... was a little unique, but it wasn't serious.
How can she be a normal girl, want to date, and yet be unable to date for 28 years?
No matter how much I think about it....
"...You, seriously, what do you do every time you go on a blind date?"
"Uh......."
If she didn't act weird in front of men, wouldn't it be impossible for her to be unable to date at all?
I thought about it seriously.
Back in the Academy days, maybe it was because there were only guys who were afraid to boldly challenge a daughter of a high-ranking family, or just weird jerks.
From her early to mid-20s... I heard she was busy with successor training and such in her family.
So she wouldn't have been in a situation to meet men properly?
I understood that.
I understood it, but.
Right now, it's just.......
"...Not the last blind date. How did the one before that go?"
"That one? Back then, I think.... I invited him to the family estate, treated him to a precious meal, and while we were eating......."
"And while eating?"
"...He suddenly left, saying I was too much."
"......."
Hmm.
Okay, that's one.
I asked about the one before that.
"Ah, back then, he suddenly started bragging to me. He said he owned some land in the Peledi region, that he had several buildings in the Imperial Capital. Since he was saying that, I bragged back just as much?"
...Okay, he was a jerk.
What about the one before that?
"Ah, that one was rejected because he was ugly."
"......."
And before that?
"I threw up while drinking, so I didn't get a second date."
"......."
...And before that, and before that?
"We were eating, and he was eating noodles, but he was eating so messily."
"......."
"Oh, and we ordered meatballs on the side. There was an even number, but he ate more than his share."
"......."
"Before that one? Ah, that time, was it the older brother of a noble young lady I knew? He was 3 years older than me. We were downing drinks together, and he passed out, so I sent him home."
"......Sigh."
You crazy bitch.
I don't know how she could be less feminine than me, who used to be a man in my past life.
Not that I'm feminine, but I was just so dumbfounded....
"What kind of crazy bitch wants to date but acts like that...? Some ladylike, girlish behavior... Sigh, what girl is 28 years old anyway...."
"W-What?!"
"......Sigh."
I was so dumbfounded, I was really angry.
It was enough to make me angry, so I took out an ice cream.
I cooled my palms and held them to my forehead to calm down a bit.......
"Um, Noona......?"
"What."
"...What is this situation all of a sudden?"
Then, after he got off work, when Noah came to the house for scar treatment, I decided to have a serious discussion.
To be precise, I decided to fix my friend's problem through Noah.
No matter what I said, the current me is a woman, so she wouldn't believe me anyway.
"Now, listen, Noah."
"Yes, I'm listening."
"What if you were a young lady from a high-ranking family, you have a lot of money, and you're a successful woman?"
"......Me?"
"No, okay. Let's switch it. You're going on a blind date with such a woman. Maybe your parents arranged it, or a business partner you know did, or it could be an introduction from another friend or acquaintance. Anyway."
If I ask a kid who is much younger than us and is clearly a man, my friend might realize something.
She definitely would.
She had to.
"You're having a meal with the other person, talking about something. And they keep using profanity. Is that attractive or unattractive?"
"Uh... well, someone who speaks too harshly is...... a bit uncomfortable, right? Especially if it's the first meeting?"
"Right?"
First, starting with the most recent incident, right before she came to find me at the Academy.
I told him about her other various stupid actions.
Like the story of the woman who suddenly asked to drink, and while they were talking normally during the day, she said that, and then ended up overdrinking alone and throwing up on the street... or the story of the woman who, in the end, to try and date, spent 3 hours straight talking only about her business during a first meeting.
I told him one by one, and naturally.......
"...Hmm, that's not easy."
"Right?"
"......."
"Yes, of course, if it's someone you like enough that you don't mind even if they do that, it wouldn't be a problem. But if it's someone you're meeting for the first time... yes, honestly, I think it would be hard."
See what I mean?
It's a thought that a boy 11 years younger than us can have.
It was funny that a 28-year-old woman couldn't figure this out.
"Did you hear that?"
"......."
"This is the reason why you can't date. You bitch."
"B-But......!"
"But what?"
"Skadi! You act without manners too, and you drink sometimes. Yet that cute, handsome, tall boy likes you!!!"
"......Sigh."
Truly a crazy bitch.
What should I do with her....
I truly couldn't see a future for her.