38. The Kind of People Called Geniuses
38. The Kind of People Called Geniuses
It had been a really long time.
It was one of the very few occasions since I opened the convenience store.
For the first time in a while, I locked the door myself, left a note saying I'd be away for a moment, and stepped outside.
"Hmm...."
I rarely ever walked around inside the Academy.
Most of the time, once I entered the Academy, I went straight to the convenience store, and that was how I left, too.
Aside from the occasional trip to the annex warehouse, I could say I never walked around the Academy at all.
After all, there was no reason for me to wander around when I was running a business.
Since I didn't have a part-timer, that was even more the case.
"...Part-timer."
It would be convenient to hire one, but...
I wondered if there was any need to split my wealth.
The whole reason I was running the business alone was so I could live comfortably by myself even after I retired.
Seriously, why?
There was no reason to do that.
Unless I was keeping a slave... No, keeping a slave costs money too.
Just living alone is the most comfortable way, right?
"Hmm... Is this it?"
I hadn't come here for any other reason.
There was only one reason, to begin with.
I had heard some additional stories after hearing about Noah.
Roughly, he said his master always spent time in the training room when she didn't have classes.
And that bitch wouldn't be doing any paperwork anyway.
As I slowly opened the door to the training room, a familiar bitch caught my eye at the same time.
"Hmm.... It's dreary in here."
"......?"
"Even if you're the youngest Sword Master, I guess the Academy doesn't treat you that specially?"
"......Skadi?"
"Aren't you going to add 'eonni'?"
"......How?"
Honestly.
She was a bitch with absolutely no manners, then and now.
That's why I like her even less, but... I couldn't deny her skills as the youngest Sword Master.
"To think that the bitch who was called the Sword Ghost, a terrifying nickname back in our adventurer days, is now an Academy teacher. It's truly fascinating. I guess you really do see everything if you live long enough."
"...What is it."
"What do you mean, what? I just came to see an acquaintance."
The person opposite me was openly making an uncomfortable expression, but it wasn't really a different face from before.
It hadn't been that long, to begin with.
They say even the mountains and rivers change in 10 years, but it hadn't even been 10 years yet.
"When did you debut as an Academy teacher? I don't know if 'debut' is the right word, though. When did you start?"
"......."
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
It's been several years.
Has she still not changed in this regard?
"...It hasn't even been 3 years yet. More importantly, what brings you to the Academy?"
"Me? Because I'm someone who works inside the Academy?"
"...You?"
"...How is it that you haven't changed at all from before?"
It was so absurd.
I just froze her.
"Ugh...."
"Use some common sense and speak politely to your eonni, okay? How are you even less polite than the noble kids these days? Even a young lady from a ducal family speaks politely to me."
"......."
"Don't glare at me like that, let's have a proper conversation, shall we? I didn't freeze your mouth shut, did I? Morgan."
"...What."
"I told you I'm someone who works inside the Academy. Is 'what' the right way to respond when I've given you an answer like that?"
"......So."
We weren't exactly on good terms from the start.
We had cleared this and that quest together... but that was also because there weren't that many Gold-rank adventurers.
Anyway, Morgan was still glaring at me.
Of course, she couldn't do anything since I had already frozen her from the lower body up to her neck.
"You don't know about the Academy convenience store?"
"...Convenience store?"
"...You really haven't changed at all from before. Is it because you only ever think about swords?"
Morgan's expression, looking as if she truly didn't know, was surprising.
It meant she had been at the Academy for at least a year.
How on earth could she not know about the convenience store even once?
Of course, it was true that the professors' quarters or this training room were quite a distance from the convenience store... but it was still baffling.
No, was I actually not that significant?
Was my convenience store actually mediocre?
Such thoughts crossed my mind.
But even though she had been working for about 2 years... the fact that she didn't know at all clearly meant this bitch was weird.
"I'm running a business inside the Academy. You... seem to be a bit weird, so you don't know, but that's how I'm doing."
"...Skadi, you're running a business?"
"It's eonni. Can't you call me properly?"
"......."
Why are the bastards and bitches in this world so lacking in manners?
It's not like they can't speak politely.
Why is it that every time I meet someone, it's only these kinds of bastards and bitches?
It was truly unpleasant.
Thinking about it in that regard... Noah is.......
"...Hmm."
"...What is it."
"It's nothing."
I tried to remember when I first met Noah, but it didn't really come to mind.
But I had known him for some time.
And ever since then, he always speaks politely and treats me with respect, calling me Noona.
Isn't he a child with a truly correct sense of direction?
Even the youngest Sword Master acts like this.
Thinking about that, isn't he much better?
"Anyway, you seem to be doing well. Your complexion is... well, it's the same as before. And you haven't lost any arms."
"Why would my arm be cut off."
"Huh? Well, because you're a bitch crazy about swords. I thought you might have rubbed up against a sword and had your arm or something cut off. Or maybe get it cut off while fighting."
"That only happens to those who lack skill."
"I see."
She hadn't changed from before.
Seeing her talk like that while frozen up to her neck, her character is certainly consistent.
"So, what did you come here for."
"Literally, I just came to see an acquaintance after a long time. And to check on how you're doing while I'm at it."
"......Tsk."
"You're working as an Academy swordsmanship teacher, right?"
"...For now, yes."
"And I heard you even have a disciple or something. It's surprising that you're doing something like that."
"It's not like you think I'm some kind of human butcher."
"...Aren't you?"
Isn't she exactly that kind of bitch?
I had actually been thinking of her as that kind of bitch as a matter of course.
Anyway, I'm meeting Morgan after a long time, but she hasn't really changed from before.
"Anyway, it seems you're doing just as well as before. I'll unfreeze you."
"......Tch, couldn't you have just not done it from the start?"
"I froze you because you had no manners. You'll have class anyway, and I can't keep you frozen forever. Besides, even if I kept you frozen... I don't think you'd talk normally, would you?"
Saying that, I released the ice that was holding Morgan's body in place.
There was no need to keep her frozen anyway.
Besides, I had to send her to class.
Anyway.
An old colleague I met after a long time... the inferior version was doing just fine.
To the point where it was boring because she seemed to be living too normally?
"Hmm."
It didn't even feel like she would take a kid named Noah as a disciple and work him to death.
Of course, she was a rude bastard to begin with.
She was rude in a different way than Katrina, though.
But she wasn't the type to care excessively about other people.
Rather, she was the type to not care.
She was a bitch who tried to do everything by herself.
So... it was surprising that she was teaching Noah swordsmanship and taking him on as a disciple to raise him so intensely.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hmm.... It's nothing, you were like this before too. It's just fascinating that even while being an Academy teacher, you always expose your armpits like that?"
"...What are you talking about."
"Usually, when you work at an Academy, aren't there dress codes or something? Especially if you're a teacher, I'd think they'd be a bit careful about that sort of thing."
"There aren't any."
"Aha, I see."
It wasn't exactly exhibitionism level.
But she was still wearing a sleeveless top.
It's more of a light style, like a... college student noona, rather than feeling like a teacher, right?
So I brought it up, but it seems the Academy has become more autonomous than I thought.
I remember back in my day, the old fogeys were all dressed in neat uniforms.
...It seems like too many things have changed as time passed.
"You, you have a disciple, right?"
"One."
"You're treating that disciple well, right? You're not doing like you did when we hunted monsters back then, working him to the bone just because he has talent, right?"
"...Not really?"
"......Sigh."
Anyway, since most of the things I was curious about were resolved.
I moved on to the other main topic.
Since I had something to talk about regarding Noah... that's why I asked.
It seems she had no self-awareness.
It's absurd, both then and now.
"...You're just abnormally strong. Most kids are weaker than you, you know?"
"He has talent."
"Talent aside, you should raise them gently when they're young. Treating an Academy student like that...."
"It won't be a problem. Rather, he hasn't complained even once while doing so. He'll be grateful."
"Haa...."
It was a matter beyond being grateful or not.
Indeed, Noah had never said anything bad while being Morgan's disciple.
He was even saying thank you every time... but aside from that, there was clearly a need to adjust things appropriately.
It was a problem beyond just physical stamina.
Calling him to the Academy when he hadn't even rested properly during the break, and the things that happened during that process.
Especially the fact that he got a pretty big scar on his back.
Noah might never have been uncomfortable, but as an adult, it's right to resolve these parts.
"No matter how talented he is in swordsmanship, and even if he's at a passing level by your standards as the youngest Sword Master, it's better not to push him too hard."
"......What do you know about my disciple."
"Because I know your disciple well. The scar on your disciple's back. I'm the one who treated it personally... you bitch."
"......What?"
The breed called geniuses originally had these frustrating parts.
I needed to tell her straight.
Geniuses usually have a part that isn't very human... slightly.
Even if it wasn't just the black-haired bitch in front of me, I had met quite a lot of those kinds of bitches, so it was even more so.