44. Interest in Another Woman
44. Interest in Another Woman
"Sajang-nim...!"
"......Iris?"
It wasn't that brat Noah who showed up suddenly on a Monday morning, but his childhood friend, Iris.
She clearly seems to have a thing for Noah.
She's a girl with a completely different style from that similar girl, Katrina.
A girl with black hair and purple eyes, plus she's quite calm and has a gentle vibe.
If Katrina feels like a cat.
Then this one feels like a puppy?
"Ah, I think this is the first time I've spoken to you properly without Noah! I'm Iris. You remember me, right...?"
"Yeah, I remember. What's up? Without Noah, even."
"It's nothing major, I just heard you gave Noah and Katrina some more advice. I wanted to stop by and tell you that thanks to that, the quest yesterday went well and everyone returned safely."
"Aha...?"
Even though we hadn't talked often, she was being this kind.
She was definitely a different style from Katrina.
She was even brighter and kinder than Noah, after all.
Well, of course she would be.
"Is that all you came to say?"
"Yes, isn't that enough? Ah, unless you were expecting a gift or a reward...."
"No, it's not that. It's just, you showed up so early in the morning. It's Monday morning, so I was just surprised."
"Hehehe, it's just that yesterday we all went on our first real quest together. We caught some Kobolds, and everyone came back without a scratch, so I just wanted to pass on my thanks."
"Oh my."
...Hmm.
We hadn't even exchanged that many words.
But in less than three minutes, my favorability toward this girl named Iris went up.
I mean, the kid is kind and sharp.
Living for 28 years, I haven't met that many kids who are this genuinely kind on the surface.
"Hmm... Iris? Do you like candy?"
"Candy? Uh... I'd never say no to it...? Hehe."
"Then I'll give you one as a snack."
"Ye, yes? You don't have to go out of your way to do that...! I usually go to the cafe with Noah and my other friends often...."
"You might run out of energy while studying, right? Just take one. You were a bit busy with the quest yesterday, weren't you?"
So I just handed her a candy.
It wasn't anything expensive, just a cheap candy that didn't even cost 5 Cooper.
It was cheaper than what I usually gave that brat Noah, so it didn't really matter.
"Uh... thank you...?"
"Did you finish the quest well yesterday?"
"Ah, yep! We finished it well. It was a quest to catch 10 Kobolds. We moved to the forest where the Kobolds live and walked around slowly to find them. After we ran into them, I attacked with magic first, and then Noah and Katrina fought together after that. Noah brought a shield, unlike his usual self...? Thanks to that, we were able to catch them much more easily!"
"Pfft, that's a relief. It's also a relief that no one got hurt."
They're just little adventurer kids.
Honestly, I was worried.
Aside from recommending the shield, I knew they wouldn't be able to use it skillfully yet.
There were bound to be all sorts of worries.
Still, they all came back safely, and even though there was a battle, they said they weren't hurt.
It was a relief.
Whatever the reason, there's no adult who likes seeing kids get hurt.
"It was something we ended up doing, but I'm grateful because it seems to have gone well thanks to you, Sajang-nim. Please continue to look after us...!"
"Yeah, if you have any questions or anything comes up in the future, it's fine to come by."
"Hehe, yep!"
Anyway, she was a kid with a really good personality.
To be honest, is she the kindest kid I've seen so far?
Of course, it's not like there weren't other people with good personalities, but she was just such a sharp kid that I thought that.
"Tsk tsk... leaving a kid like that behind."
What is that brat Noah doing?
It's truly absurd.
It's not like he has flowers in both hands, he has jewels in both hands, for crying out loud.
The fact that the one he chooses is none other than an ajumma who is completely outside the options, it was so absurd that I just laughed.
"Noona, why are you laughing? Is something wrong?"
"Ah... pfft...."
"......Why are you like that?"
While I was laughing pointlessly by myself like that, that brat Noah showed up today without fail.
I guess he didn't come to school with Iris.
Or maybe he didn't run into Iris.
He looked completely clueless.
That look was also kind of funny.
I was just in a laughing mood today, so I laughed a little more while looking at Noah.
"Your friend came by earlier to say thank you."
"......Friend? You mean Iris?"
"Yeah, she said it was your first real quest, and it went well. She said thanks."
"Ah...."
"Why, are you jealous that your childhood friend came to see me instead of you?"
"No. It's not like that. It's just that Iris coming here first...."
"Coming here first?"
"......It's nothing."
"Tsk tsk...."
He clearly seems to have feelings for her, too.
Yet the person himself is like this.
I felt bad for that kid, Iris, too.
She seems like such a great kid, yet the guy who's supposed to be her childhood friend is acting like this.
On top of that, a young lady from a prestigious noble family is involved, too.
Naturally, the picture where the childhood friend becomes the main wife might be a bit difficult.
"Noah, you take one of these too."
"Candy?"
"Yeah. I gave one to your childhood friend, too. Eat one while you're at it."
"Why the sudden gift?"
"Hmm.... A commemorative gift for returning safely from the quest without getting hurt?"
Anyway, that's that.
Since he's also a kid who came back safely with Iris.
I handed him one more candy, the same kind I'd given Iris a little while ago.
If Katrina also stops by the Convenience Store later today, it would be good to give her one too.
Though a noble lady might not like cheap candy that much.
But I can't discriminate against the kids, can I?
Anyway, Noah quietly accepted the candy I handed him.
"Noah, congratulations on clearing what you can truly call your first quest."
"......Yes, Noona. I'll keep working hard."
"You don't need to work that hard. The most important thing is just coming back without getting hurt. You don't have to push yourself unnecessarily."
"......Yep."
Actually, at first, I was skeptical about the little kids doing quests on their own.
But they seem to be doing pretty well in their own way.
As an adult, and as a senior to them in the Academy and as an adventurer, I was just looking out for them.
Plus, I really don't like it when one of the kids I'm close with gets hurt.
"Oh, right. Noah? If you meet your master today, learn some shield techniques too. She usually only uses one sword, but she knows a lot about most swordplay and fighting."
"You know a lot about my master?"
"I told you, we knew each other back in my adventurer days. Anyway, learn something from her. It'll be helpful."
"......Yes, Noona. Thank you, as always."
Iris, and this kid too.
I naturally thought that these kids were pretty decent.
Setting aside the commoner or noble standards.
Expressing gratitude to someone is actually a difficult thing to do.
Especially since kids this age tend to think of themselves a bit more.
In that sense, I liked how they easily bowed their heads and said thank you.
Especially Noah, this kid, even though I think I look after him quite often.
Every time I do, he says thank you and shows signs of declining, too.
Not accepting goodwill too simply is a part I like about him... but still, I really didn't want him to have romantic feelings for me.
"Work hard today, too."
"Yes, Noona. You have a good day too, Noona."
"Yeah, it's about time for customers to start coming, so get going."
"Yep."
Iris or Katrina.
It would be great if he got along well with either one of them.
Why did a kid who has a good personality and is decent-looking choose someone like this....
"Tsk tsk...."
It's a pity for the girls who like Noah, too.
But it's not like I've ever done anything.
I keep rejecting that kid, and I've pushed him away every time he expressed interest.
"...By the way......."
Girls are girls.
I really didn't know that Morgan, that woman, would come to like that kid.
It's surprisingly strange that someone called the Sword Ghost, who had absolutely no interest in men, would take a liking to a minor commoner boy.
I'm not Noah's parent or anything.
But if Noah were to meet or have a relationship with the women around him... Morgan, that woman, was absolutely, strictly forbidden.
If a kid with such a good personality got involved with a crazy bitch like Morgan, it would be incredibly troublesome.
It's not that I have strange ideologies.
Basically, after marriage, it's right for the husband to earn money outside and the wife to support the household, but.
That woman... she'd spend all day training with her sword, not earning money outside, and not supporting the household either.
It's not like she'd work outside and the husband would support the household, either.
She's the type who would just leave everything to her husband and spend her time solely focused on sword training.
"Hmm. That's not right."
Where else can you find a kid as sharp as Noah?
That's definitely not it.
Setting aside being a commoner, he was someone who had entered the Academy, and he had enough talent to be taken as a disciple by the youngest Sword Master.
I can't let a kid like that go to waste.
If Noah ever becomes interested in another woman after me... and if that woman is Morgan.
"Ugh."
I'll really have to scold him.
I absolutely have to.