46. Is It Because I'm Tall?
46. Is It Because I'm Tall?
"Hmm.... Ah, the display shelf a little more to the right, yeah. Yeah. That's good. Now do the shelf on the other side just like you did this one."
"......."
"And the melted ice, go grab a mop and wipe it all up."
I was using Morgan's sword like a cane, propping it on the floor while giving instructions like a foreman.
I was confident in creating ice and freezing things, but conversely, I found everything involving melting ice to be a hassle.
Besides, when the ice melted, it naturally turned back into water, so the floor was bound to be soaked.
I was making Morgan do all sorts of things, using today's incident and her sword as leverage.
Unpaid labor, plain and simple.
I was basically working her like a slave.
But since she was the one who broke the glass door and was primarily at fault, it was a fact.
"...Skadi-eonni. Is this enough?"
"Hmm.... Yeah, well. That's enough. Looks like you mopped the floor well enough, now wipe the remaining water off the display shelf."
"......Got it."
Actually, there was one thing that had continued since I first met that bitch when I was 18.
Morgan was just rude and incredibly self-centered.
But if you scolded her properly, enough to clearly establish a hierarchy like this time, she would at least listen to what you said for about two months.
...Probably just because she couldn't win against me.
She just tucked her tail between her legs.
Anyway.
It meant that bitch hadn't changed much from a few years ago.
"That's enough. Good work, take your sword."
"Tsk...."
"I'm sorry I went a bit too hard without realizing it because you came at me rougher than I thought. Hmm, since you finally visited the convenience store for the first time, want some coffee to drink during class?"
"It's not good for my body."
"Then how about a fruit drink?"
"...If it's that."
"Alright, I'll hand you this one, so let's just move on and treat this as nothing. We talked about it all just a moment ago, right?"
"Okay......."
Even while she was fixed in place with ice, and during the subsequent cleaning process, we talked in our own way.
There was no need to be violent like in the old days.
We just talked normally, starting with the story of how it was Noah's first quest, and since the party lacked a vanguard, I had recommended a shield as a stopgap measure.
And from Morgan's perspective, she was the youngest Sword Master, and Noah was the disciple she had taught the sword style she herself had developed.
It must have been annoying to see such a disciple suddenly using a shield, which wasn't used in her sword style.
On top of that, it was done suddenly, and he had reported it only after using it.
In many ways, we decided to understand each other.
I thought it wasn't much different from the past, but 18 and 23 are different, after all.
"Anyway, don't give Noah too hard a time. Go and tell him you misunderstood. You get it, right?"
"I'll do that."
"Yeah, I've given up on the casual speech now. At least get the honorifics right, okay?"
"...I got it. Skadi-eonni."
"Hehe."
Anyway, it was settled in its own way.
The time it took to settle it was longer than I thought, so it was almost time for class to end.
But there were no big problems.
The fact that the glass door broke was a bit... troublesome, but I could just set up an ice wall on the door every day when I commute.
"Good luck with your teaching job. You look better than back when you were an adventurer. Seems like you're doing well."
"...Eonni, you're the one who should be hearing that."
"Well, I suppose so."
Quite a bit of time had passed.
And since I had achieved my goal in my own way.
It was normal that things were different in many ways from back then.
.
.
.
"Noona...? I heard our master came to the convenience store and caused a scene today... Are you okay?"
"Huh? That? I resolved it normally. Why?"
Aside from the door, it was a convenience store with no real problems, but Noah asked with worried eyes as soon as he entered.
By the way, he was definitely in class.
Where did the story leak from?
It wasn't like Morgan would have talked about it first, so did someone else tell Noah about this?
It was definitely right before class started.
I had sent all the other students who remained in the convenience store away... did some of the kids who left then talk about it?
"Because I heard you guys fought a lot. They said Master even brought her real sword.... Are you really okay?"
"I resolved it well. I'm not hurt, and that's why I'm working normally, right?"
"Even so...."
"More than that, who did you hear it from?"
Other things weren't that important.
Personally, this was what I was curious about.
Did some of the kids I sent away tell Noah separately?
"Doesn't everyone in the Academy know...? That the sword instructor, Master, suddenly fought with the convenience store owner."
"Hmm?"
"That Noona and Master suddenly fought, everyone's a bit noisy about it, did you really not know?"
"I don't know. I was only inside the convenience store."
"......."
"I guess someone passing by must have seen it while we were fighting. I thought no one saw it."
Of course, there was a hallway around the convenience store, and the glass window and glass door were broken, so the structure allowed you to see inside clearly.
People passing by couldn't help but see it.
But well... there was no intervention, after all.
The security guards never came by to say this or that, right?
I guess you could say nothing happened.
At least that's what I thought.
"By any chance, did our Master...."
"You don't need to worry. I'm really not hurt. Why, do I need to take off my clothes and show you to believe me?"
"N-n-no.... There's no need for that...."
"Oh my. Seeing you can't make eye contact, it looks like you actually want that?"
"I didn't!"
"Puhuhu......."
Since he looked so worried, I just tried teasing him once.
I didn't expect such an interesting reaction.
Honestly, it was pretty funny.
It was the kind of reaction only a boy his age would have.
He couldn't deflect it smoothly, couldn't make eye contact, his pupils were shaking like crazy, and his face was turning red.
On top of that, his eyes, which couldn't meet mine, were naturally drifting toward my body.
Besides that, it was fun how he got flustered the moment I teased him again.
"I'm really okay, so wouldn't I be able to make jokes like this? If I were actually hurt, I would have rested."
"...That's true."
"Your master coming to find me wasn't a big deal either. We didn't have any major injuries, and in the first place, I didn't get hit once."
"...By Master?"
"Why, is it amazing?"
"Uh...... Well...."
"That I won against a Sword Master?"
"......Yes."
Even so, after that joke, the look of extreme worry disappeared.
Instead, Noah focused on the fact that I had won, like a true boy.
Well, she is a Sword Master.
Aside from being used to her because I've seen her for a long time, she was one of those people praised by the world with all sorts of nonsense added on.
I wonder if she's really that great.
But since she's a girl who became a Sword Master at twenty, it's probably natural in its own way.
Also... it was important that he had never seen me fight.
Even to me, the usual me doesn't have anything special, right?
It was true that I didn't have a particularly strong feeling in a fight, not in terms of appearance, but in combat.
I'm just an ajumma running a convenience store in the Academy.
Except for being a Snow Woman and having snow-white hair, that is.
"I haven't even been able to land a proper attack on Master yet. I've been learning since last semester. I'm too busy defending, let alone attacking."
"Hmm...."
"It's just... amazing that Noona won against Master."
"It's nothing."
"How is that nothing? That's incredibly amazing."
By the way, is Noah more competitive than I thought?
Honestly, considering how he usually acts, he was on the quiet side... but this conversation.
Maybe it's because I beat his own master, who is a Sword Master.
He seemed to have a lot of interest.
"How did you do it?"
"Hmm....... You just have to be strong?"
"......."
"Just kidding, I know what you could call the weakness of her sword style. I attacked that part and won easily."
"Weakness?"
"Yeah, weakness."
Of course, not just sword style, but everything has a weakness.
And there's no invincible, perfect thing without a weakness.
In my case, I had memories of watching the sword style she had been honing since she was 18, one by one, and thanks to that, I could exploit the weakness.
There was also the fact that I ambushed her before she could even draw her sword properly, and I blocked her from doing things typical of swordsmen, like measuring distance or stepping.
Besides that, there were many things to exploit.
"I see...."
"Why, want me to teach you?"
"Ah, no. Hmm.... It might be good to hear it. But right now, I think other things are more important than hearing about weaknesses."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, there's still a lot to learn. I think it's better to prepare step-by-step from the basics rather than focusing only on weaknesses.... That's what I think for now."
"Hmm...."
I see.
Actually, if I wanted to tell him, I really could have.
Since he's her disciple, telling him the weakness of her sword style could actually make her sword style better.
I thought he would think of it positively.
To think he'd make such a sincere statement.
"How admirable."
"......."
"Keep doing that in the future. Even if other people say it's frustrating, I think that's a much better attitude."
So I praised him in my own way.
He's saying such admirable things.
It should be fine to praise him like this.
"Hey, but. Maybe it's because you're tall. My arm hurts from petting your head. Bow your head a bit."
"Ah, y-yes...."
By the way, Noah seems to have grown taller again.
I was 174cm.
It was true that I was quite tall for a woman.
But to be over 180cm and still growing.
I was slightly envious.