4. Someone Who Can't Do Anything
4. Someone Who Can't Do Anything
"Nunim, what is all this?"
"What do you mean, what is it? It's the stuff left over after stocking the convenience store, piled up in the warehouse."
"...But why?"
I took that punk Noah and headed to the Academy annex warehouse.
As soon as we arrived, he looked at me with a bewildered expression.
Perhaps he misunderstood why I suddenly dragged him somewhere.
Well, at 17, he's about the age of a high school student.
If we apply international age... in Korean age, he's 18, about a high school sophomore.
Considering his age, I suppose it's only natural.
He was just a brat who approached me with full-blown sexual intentions anyway, so it wouldn't be strange for him to jump to weird conclusions on his own.
"Why do you think? You're free, aren't you? Help me move this."
"......."
"You're taller and stronger than me, so it's not like you can't move this, right? These are things I usually move to the convenience store myself."
The reason I brought him here was none other than to move the ordered goods to the convenience store.
To be precise... I brought him along to move the non-regularly scheduled shipments, excluding the regular ones.
He said he had nothing to do, and I had to move these things anyway.
If Noah is satisfied being around me, and I'm satisfied being able to move these things...
I just brought him along thinking it would be a win-win for both of us.
"Why, you don't want to?"
"It's not that I don't want to. I just didn't expect this."
"Did you think of something lewd?"
"...Haha."
"Tsk tsk... As expected, your head is full of weird stuff. Just hurry up and move it. You steal my break room bed whenever you're bored, but you won't even do this?"
"No, that's not it. Should I move all of these?"
"Yeah."
Still, he's used to doing things, and he likes me anyway.
Noah started picking up the boxes in the warehouse one by one.
Even at a glance, they were quite large, so I was a bit worried... but he is quite famous in the [Swordsmanship Department], and he's got a considerable height and build, so maybe that's why?
"You're going to carry them all at once?"
"Yes, I think the weight should be fine."
"Hmm... Well, it's your back. Be careful with your back and follow me, okay?"
I was a little surprised to see him lift all four boxes by himself.
When I move them, I always have to go back and forth four times, moving them one by one.
He put them on both shoulders...
I couldn't help but think that the difference in physical strength between men and women is quite hard to deny.
Leaving the incoming goods to Noah, I slowly headed back to the convenience store.
It was so fascinating to see him move them much more easily than I thought, I kept looking back, but he managed to reach the convenience store without showing any signs of struggle.
After all, he's a brat who's much taller than me, and I'm 174cm.
Sometimes it feels awkward to call someone like that a brat, but just looking at him acting like this toward a woman 11 years his senior, he's still just a lacking brat, a rookie, right?
"Nunim, where should I put these?"
"Follow me, there's a separate storage room for inventory in the back."
Anyway, thanks to Noah, I was able to easily move the ordered goods and finish organizing them without any trouble.
Doing this, I think I understand why large corporations or high nobles hire laborers...
Running a convenience store without a single part-timer and opening every single day, it's inevitable that having someone suddenly help out makes things so much easier.
"Hey, Noah. Take this."
"Is a drink my reward?"
"You only worked for about 10 minutes, isn't one bottle of drink enough?"
"It's enough."
"Then that's that."
It's true that I made Noah run a small errand on a whim, but I didn't really intend to just bully him.
I took out a drink that students have been buying quite often lately and tossed it to Noah.
It's true that he's interested in me, and I treat him quite casually.
Still, he's 11 years younger than me.
I feel a bit sorry to just work him to the bone as an adult.
"Noah, is it good?"
"Yes, it's delicious. Maybe it tastes even better because you gave it to me, Nunim."
"Stop with the nonsense, and let's fill the shelves with the stuff from the warehouse now."
"...Now?"
"Then when else? Should I fill them in a rush when students start pouring in?"
"......."
Well, I didn't intend to just let the student who skipped class off the hook.
Since he's a student who skipped class to wander around, and then came straight into my convenience store and interrupted my break.
I intended to put him to good use.
"Come on, hurry. Let's move."
"Still... if you say so, Nunim, I have to do it."
I was a little surprised at how much more favorably Noah responded than I thought, literally.
But thanks to that, the work proceeded faster than originally expected.
Thanks to him performing well every time I made the brat who's easily over 180cm tall work?
Even restocking was finished very neatly, without any excess.
"Hmm, perfect. Let's rest now? I've been working continuously, so I'm starting to get tired."
"...Didn't you just give orders from behind?"
"Giving orders is work too. Just because a general in the army gives orders doesn't mean they aren't doing anything."
"That... is true... but..."
He's a guy who keeps flirting strangely with someone 11 years his senior, but in the end, he's a 17-year-old brat.
There was naturally the dignity of an adult.
Seeing him unable to refute such trivial words and getting played, it's certain he's just a complete rookie.
He's easily over 180cm, and his shoulders and everything are impressive.
Well, in the end, what's important to a person isn't just their physique.
"No one's here. Noah, shall we go into the break room and rest?"
"...Yes, Nunim."
Anyway, I took the laborer who worked hard and went into the break room.
As soon as I entered, I threw my body onto the bed, and Noah sat appropriately on the edge of the bed.
Even though he sometimes enters my break room without permission and lies on the bed first.
Seeing him sitting far away when I'm lying down like this... he really feels like a shy high school boy.
"Hmm... Noah, how tall are you?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Who else would be here besides you?"
"...Ah."
I just asked out of curiosity while looking at Noah sitting on the chair.
It's true that he's definitely taller than me, but I was curious about exactly how tall he is.
He seemed taller than the people I've seen in the Academy or elsewhere.
I didn't carry a ruler, and I couldn't measure him for sure.
"182...? I'm not sure. I haven't measured my height lately either."
"Well, you're in a growth spurt. That's understandable."
I felt like he would be much taller than 180cm, but compared to that thought, he didn't feel that tall.
Maybe it's because his shoulders are broad and his overall build is sturdy?
Anyway, he's still seventeen, in a growth period.
The thought naturally occurred to me that he would grow taller than that someday.
"Hmm... You really are a brat."
"...Aren't I taller than you, Nunim?"
"If you're still in a growth spurt, that's a brat."
It's true that he's taller than me, at 174cm.
If he's still a teenager in a growth spurt, what else would you call him if not a brat?
Of course, I have to look up at him, though.
"Haa... Ugh... I'm tired..."
"......."
"Hey, Noah, how long are you going to stay in the break room?"
"At least until the next class... I suppose. Should I leave?"
"Huh? There's no need for that, I was just wondering if you're going to attend the next class."
What should I do with this delinquent brat?
It was inevitable that I'd have all sorts of worries.
No matter how I think about it, it was quite hard to understand that an Academy teacher would allow him to skip class in the middle... well, since the teacher said so.
There's nothing I can do about it, right?
Just making sure this brat doesn't wander around strange places or do weird things for no reason... isn't that the role of an adult, at least?
"Haa... So, you have nothing to do anyway, right?"
"...Yes, that's right."
"Then just sit there and read a magazine or something, and go to class on your own."
So I told him that.
I wasn't in a position to help him with anything academic, and running the convenience store was busy and annoying enough.
If I tell him roughly like this, wouldn't he handle it well on his own?
He's a guy who hits on me to the point of being foolish.
But he wasn't truly stupid.
"Yawn... Shall I get some sleep..."
"...Nunim, aren't you being too defenseless?"
So I just tried to ignore Noah and take a short nap for about 30 minutes.
Suddenly, the brat looked at me and said something strange.
Asking if I'm being defenseless, if I'm not being careful... well, is he saying this to imply that he's a man too?
Honestly speaking, he's only tall.
It was just funny because it was still just the words of a 17-year-old brat.
Since he seemed to be talking quite seriously, I decided not to just laugh and answer.
I usually treat him quite casually, but rather than treating even this kind of talk playfully, it would be better to just answer honestly and a bit seriously.
"Just because I run a convenience store, do I look like someone who's really nothing?"
"...Yes?"
"Because I'm definitely not the type of person who would just whimper and be unable to do anything if a first-year Academy student like you pounced on me."
"......."
Just roughly.
He probably just said it like he usually does, not much different from usual.
I just, well, to this extent.
"Let's keep it appropriate. Okay?"
"...Yes."
I thought that giving him a warning would surely be enough.