47. A Trustworthy Adult
47. A Trustworthy Adult
Ever since that bitch Morgan pulled that stunt, she's been relatively quiet.
The brats, including Noah, were all attending the Academy normally, and they were clearing Quests together on the weekends.
It looked like they were back to their regular Academy life.
Perhaps thanks to my "education," Morgan also started teaching Noah with some moderation.
She started cutting back on that mindless training with real swords like before, stopped grinding down Noah's stamina when he had school the next day... and she even started adjusting her intensity when it came to Swordsmanship.
All in all, it was a pretty standard daily life.
Even though I did help Noah and Katrina with their studies on Saturdays.
Still, it was boring.
I even started to wonder if I was just too addicted to dopamine.
But... I had spent my days being so busy and chaotic ever since my Academy days, so living like this was just how it was.
If it couldn't be helped, then it couldn't be helped.
"Noona, do you have time this evening?"
"Me?"
"Yes, I think we need to talk about a Quest for a bit this evening. Are you free after you close the shop?"
"...I have the time, sure. It's a bit sudden, though."
In the midst of all this, with only a few weeks left until the Midterm Exam, Noah told me that.
It wasn't even a month away yet.
Were they planning on going on Quests even now?
I was a little puzzled and taken aback... but since he said he had something to ask me, I agreed to it for now.
After that, things went back to normal.
I just spent my time running the shop as usual, visiting the warehouse, and occasionally scolding the troublemakers who came by.
And then, in the evening.......
"......All three of you?"
Three brats standing in front of the shop.
Black hair, black hair, blonde hair.
I was met with the sight of three 17-year-old boys and girls waiting for me.
"What's wrong?"
"No, I heard you had something to talk about regarding a Quest, but this is the first time all three of you have come together. I was surprised."
"...It's just a somewhat important story, so we gathered together."
"Is that so? Well, I've closed the shop, so follow me. It's less than 10 minutes to my place. Let's go there and talk. You said it was an important story, right?"
I was a bit flustered, but they had specifically asked for my time.
It seemed like a topic that would be hard to discuss casually at the Convenience Store.
It felt like it was going to be a somewhat secret conversation.
I naturally led the kids toward my house.
Since it was late, we could have just gone to a restaurant, but the conversation seemed more important.
Plus, Katrina, standing next to Noah, had a very serious expression—not a hint of her usual irritable self, just someone lost in deep thought.
"Everyone, make yourselves comfortable. Coffee or tea.... Ah, I have juice, too. What would you like? My personal recommendation is a nice, cold juice."
"Ah, I'd be grateful for the juice...!"
"It's late, so I'll have juice as well."
"...Please prepare tea for me."
The commoner duo asked for juice, while the noble lady ordered tea.
The two who had visited my house before sat down quite naturally, but Iris was looking around, peering at her surroundings.
Actually, when I brought them in, I was going to naturally tell Noah and Katrina to make themselves at home since they visit often....
But Iris wouldn't know that Noah and Katrina study together at my house on Saturdays.
I chose to stay silent about that part on purpose.
"So, what is it you want to talk about? Usually, you just come to the Convenience Store and have a light chat, and that's it."
"...Katrina, do you want to tell her?"
"...I should be the one to tell her. It's my story, after all."
"Yeah. Okay."
"We'll stay quiet."
...Well, after serving the drinks and handing them a plate of snacks, we got into the real conversation.
I figured we were doing this because of Katrina rather than Noah or Iris.
But seeing as she didn't just come alone... and brought the other two along, it didn't seem like it was for a simple reason....
"......Hmm."
I felt like it was going to be troublesome already.
But since the kids were asking for help, I couldn't just ignore them.
"Do you know anything about the Valerance family?"
"Nope. I don't really have much interest in nobles, and I tend not to get involved with them."
"I see. But you do know that the Valerance family is a Duchy and that I am a young lady of that family, right?"
"That's true. You told me as much."
The Valerance Duchy.
Along with Vivian's Evermore Count family... it was one of the families I had heard of.
I didn't have any particular interest, though.
Still, I had at least heard the name.
Since they were famous among the various families, it was really just at the level of knowing they existed.
"I am the eldest daughter of the Valerance family, but the family is in a bit of a noisy state. There's a power struggle between the branch families, and my mother and father are in poor health."
"Mm-hmm."
"For now, Father is serving as the Family Head... but due to health issues, there has been talk within the family about the position of Family Head since last year."
"Just hearing it, that sounds like a troublesome story."
"...It is. In that situation, the branch family members are quite nasty, and the direct line consists only of young children, excluding myself."
I listened to her while eating a slushie I'd made by squeezing fresh fruit, pouring in sparkling water, and stirring it by hand.
Duchy, direct line, branch family, power struggle, health.
Just looking at the keywords... it was a story that looked genuinely troublesome.
"The elders currently leading the Duchy are quite old, and they are in much worse health than Father, making them unfit to take over the position of Family Head. So, if someone were to be selected to temporarily take over as acting Family Head... it's highly likely to be someone from the branch family."
"That makes sense. You can't make a 17-year-old kid the Family Head, and you're attending the Academy right now. It can't be helped."
"...That's true. It's a rational judgment and the only choice. I know that, but...."
"But?"
"...The people from the branch family have held an inferiority complex toward the direct line for a very long time, and they are showing signs of trying to swallow up our direct line."
"Hmm, so. Why are you continuing to tell me this story now?"
I knew it was a boring and pedantic story.
But in the end, I'm a fairly simple human.
I'm someone who has lived wanting to live well and live comfortably.
I wanted her to tell me what she wanted first, rather than giving me uninteresting information.
It might feel like I was treating a kid too carelessly, but I was just that kind of person, so it couldn't be helped.
"I told you to some extent last time."
"The real reason you didn't tell me last time. The reason you deliberately didn't say it. Tell me now."
I had let it slide back then.
I had the intuition to notice, and since I saw she didn't want to talk about it, I just let it pass, but since it had come to this...
"What reason?"
"I want the direct line, my family, to continue to hold the position of Family Head in the future. And for that, I decided to start doing Quests to prove my ability and to prove my qualifications to the elders. Even though I'm... a little lacking."
"Mm-hmm."
"But recently, although I'm not certain, it seems like the branch family did something... and my father's health has worsened. Because of that, I've become a bit pressed for time."
"......."
A cliché story.
A story about fighting over cliché power.
A story about cliché kids trying their best.
"So it means you have to accomplish that proof sooner, and you have to produce even greater results."
"That's about it."
"And you don't want the branch family member who is older than you to take the Family Head position and use that acting position to gain more power within the Duchy?"
"...You said you didn't have much interest in nobles, but you understand well."
"It's not like I have absolutely no connection to them."
I had handled many requests related to noble bastards in the past, after all.
Though I had deliberately turned some of them down.
"And you want me to help you more with those things, not just as an advisor, but you want direct help."
"......That's right."
"It's nothing special. Not as much as I thought."
But on the other hand, I was a bit puzzled.
Wouldn't it be better to ask the family elders, the old geezers, instead?
They are family members after all, and the direct line is Katrina's side.
I wondered if there was really a need to ask for help from me, someone who just runs a Convenience Store.
Especially someone who is a Duchess's daughter?
Perhaps she anticipated that question of mine?
"I told you. It seems like the branch family did something."
"Mm-hmm."
"But the Council of Elders seems to have noticed it to some extent, yet they aren't taking any action. And it seems like bad things have been happening to the direct line for several years."
"......Hmm."
"I judged that it would be much better to ask for help from someone completely outside, someone who would have no connection to the Valerance family, which is why I'm talking to you like this. On top of that, I heard that you are a former Gold Rank adventurer, and from what I've heard, you're a Swordsmanship instructor and the youngest Sword Master... and I even heard that you won overwhelmingly against the person who is currently Noah's master. I was sure I could get great help from you......."
The way she was reading the room.
It was honestly quite funny to see the blonde noble lady, who seemed like she lived for her own pride, acting so intimidated.
When I first met her, she could only make irritable expressions or look humiliated.
Is family and the honor of the family that important to her?
My life this time around was quite unique, so it was hard for me to truly understand that.
Since I was born into this unknown world as a Demi-human, quite different from a human, I had just lived diligently for my own goals.
"Hmm...."
I thought she was trying to walk a path that was quite troublesome.
It was too difficult for a mere 17-year-old kid to shoulder.
I also had the thought of whether she really had to push herself like that right now.
But listening to her story, it seemed like she really didn't have any reliable adults around, and if a girl who is a Duchess's daughter has no adults she can trust...
I wondered how desperate she must be to tell this to the boy she likes, the girl who likes that boy, and the middle-aged woman that the boy likes.
It was a pitiful situation.
"I'll help you."
So I just readily agreed.
Even though it felt like troublesome, headache-inducing things would follow.
Because I'm an adult.
I just felt a sense of responsibility in my own way.
Even though it had only been about two months since we met and had a proper conversation.
Or rather, because she was a kid who asked me for help despite such a short time.
"In return, it would be okay for me to state a few conditions, right?"
"...Of course. It's definitely not something I would ask for without any compensation, after all."
Of course, aside from that part, I was planning on making demands myself.