53. This Is Why Girls Fall for Him
53. This Is Why Girls Fall for Him
"......Wow."
"How is it? Delicious, right? Is it delicious enough to make you forget the guilt of always having me treat you, Noona?"
"......It's really, delicious."
"I told you so. How many times have I said this place is amazing? Now that you've tried it, you have to admit it, right?"
"I admit the taste... and I think I can also admit why the price is so high."
"Hehe...."
It was a shop that sold truly high-quality Jamón.
There was no way a restaurant that received Jamón made by some rich noble—who raised expensive pig breeds on nothing but acorns—wouldn't be delicious.
In fact, it was bound to be ridiculously good.
Every time I visited, I felt like I really wanted to come here often.
Of course, if I came here every single day and ate every meal here, my bank balance might hit zero in a few years, but still?
It was a restaurant good enough to make me think that.
Even the sulky kid, and the one who felt burdened by me constantly buying him food, couldn't help but naturally enjoy the meal.
"Drink some sparkling water, too. You'll get indigestion."
"Yes, Noona."
"Pfft...."
In the end, it was funny watching him eat the Jamón so earnestly, and watching him shovel the side dishes that came with the Jamón into his mouth with such dedication.
It's not like anyone was going to steal his food, or like he was doing a time attack.
Seeing him wolfing it down all by himself was a sight you'd really only see at that age.
Still, he did well on his exam, and seeing him eat so well, I didn't feel like it was a waste at all.
Actually, it would have been nice to bring the other kids I've been meeting lately, like Katrina or Iris, to eat with us too.
But since Noah, who was sitting in front of me eating Jamón so hard, wanted it to be just the two of us, that wasn't possible.
"Sigh...."
I had tried to arrange seats so he could spend more time with the two girls, Katrina and Iris.
But Noah still had feelings for me.
Honestly, I didn't truly hate the fact that the kid in front of me liked me.
If I were younger, back in my prime adventurer days, I would have flipped out and had a total meltdown every time a guy told me he liked me.
But it's been almost 30 years since I started living as a woman.
28 years, to be exact.
Anyway.
As time passed, honestly, my time in this life became longer than my time in my past life, and I had become quite desensitized to things like romance.
"Noah, do you like me that much?"
"Yes."
"......Wow, you answered that easily even though I asked so suddenly."
"Because it's the truth."
"Sigh...."
Who likes whom, wanting to date...
It felt like a story so far, so very far away from me.
If you consider my current age of 28 along with my age from my past life... I'm basically 50, and I've never once had a romance in all that time.
Since I've never had such an encounter or felt that kind of flutter, I just thought, 'Whatever,' about Noah saying things like that.
Especially since he was just a kid, that feeling was even stronger.
He says he likes me, talks to me, visits me, and looks at me... but it didn't feel like anything romantic.
It was like a little puppy—though the Noah in front of me is 180cm tall.
Like a puppy coming over and panting.
"There are plenty of pretty, nice girls around you, you know."
"I like you better, Noona."
"Huh...."
But sometimes, seeing that puppy talk, it felt like he wasn't a puppy, but a fox.
He doesn't show that side often, though.
The way he flirted with me so casually, just like now, was funny.
If he had said those things to girls his own age like Katrina or Iris, they would have been head over heels.
But the person he's doing it to is an ajumma 11 years his senior.
It was absurd.
"......Is it too much pressure?"
"It's not really pressure. I've dealt with way more pressure than you in my life, after all."
"......Yes?"
Right away, in my past life, unlike now, I lived a truly, truly crazy life.
It was hard to even compare... I lived so fiercely.
My family was drowning in debt, I was the only one thinking about the future, I studied like crazy from a young age, and thanks to that, I got into a good university.
After that, I got a job at a major corporation, paid off the debt, worked like a madman to climb the corporate ladder...
And then I died.
Anyway, along with that past life, I've experienced quite a few strange things in this life, too.
I once stepped in to resolve a terrorist attack at the Academy, and I've cleared plenty of high-difficulty quests while working as an adventurer.
A 17-year-old kid flirting with me wasn't even worth calling pressure.
"I just don't think much of it."
"......Is that so?"
"Yeah, of course, hearing me say that probably feels bad for you."
"No, it's not. It's not like you did anything wrong, Noona."
"I appreciate you thinking that way."
Recently, we hadn't had conversations like this because of exams or Katrina asking for help.
It had been like this for a few months.
Noah approaching me to say things like this, and me brushing it off like it was nothing.
I just want him to give up on me and get along well with some other nice girl.
But this kid in front of me still has feelings for me.
A situation that was neither here nor there continued, dragged on, and was delayed.
At some point, Noah became less active in approaching me.
And I started treating this kid like a real kid.
"......."
"Hmm."
Actually, at this point, I was even curious.
Until now, I hadn't had much interest or doubt, and I felt nothing.
But now, I honestly couldn't help but be curious.
It's not normal for someone to diligently seek out a person for months just because they like their appearance.
Yet, even after months had passed, this guy was still following me around.
I hadn't given him any leeway, nothing had changed, and yet he was still doing this.
"Why do you like me?"
I'm curious, you know.
Just, what he's thinking.
Even if he's just a 17-year-old kid, he's at an age where he has his own thoughts.
He's at an age where he thinks for himself and then makes his own decisions.
Honestly, objectively speaking, I was curious why he kept following me around even after experiencing a situation where there was absolutely no progress for months.
It's not like someone ordered the boy in front of me to like me.
It must all be his own decision.
"I'm just asking because I'm curious. What you're thinking, why you're doing this. I just asked out of curiosity, if you don't want to answer, that's fine."
"......I just like you because you're you, Noona."
"Hmm...."
What should I say.
That sounded like a line straight out of a novel.
I wanted to hear more details about the reason, but is he shy?
It was definitely a topic that would be embarrassing to talk about, and he was at an age where it would be hard to talk about such things easily.
I didn't press him any further.
"......Noona, does it not bother you at all that I act like this?"
"In what sense?"
"......Just, in many ways. Even when I say things like I did earlier, you don't even flinch. You don't react in a good or bad way...."
He asked with a slightly worried attitude.
But this time, unlike when he was sulking earlier, he was looking at me straight on.
Noah's behavior.
Honestly, I didn't think much of it.
Because he's a kid.
If I said that to Noah, it would be obvious that he'd hate it, though.
Honestly, 11 years just feels too young, doesn't it?
Even if there was only a 7-year gap, I wouldn't feel like they were in my age group... but 11 years?
Of course, it would be like that.
"Hmm.... I don't think badly of it, but I don't feel good about it either. To explain with an example, if a puppy begs you to go for a walk, you don't think that's bad, right?"
"......Is that so?"
"Yeah, I've never thought it was bad. It's not bad for a person to like another person. Besides, Noah, you're not the type to cross the line or be rude."
"......."
If he were the type to cross the line or be rude, I would have frozen him long ago.
Just like his master.
But he never did that, and on the contrary, Noah was quite a polite kid, which is why I let it slide even though he had romantic interest in me.
I couldn't just freeze someone simply because they liked me.
And there was no need to, either.
"Hmm. Sorry, I feel like I brought the mood down again because of me. There's really no need to eat in this kind of atmosphere."
"Ah, no. I kept asking unnecessary questions. You don't have to say that, Noona."
...Seeing him still say things like that so politely, he really was a good kid.
This is why girls fall for him.
Well, I wouldn't.
I could see why other academy students would have feelings for a commoner boy like him.