Chapter 42: Relationships Are Built on Tigers (3)

Rohan desperately wanted to leave the cash register and see what Clara and Noa were up to.

But it was impossible for him to do so at the moment.

The moment Clara agreed to read manga together with Noa, customers started flooding the once-quiet bookstore like waves.

“That’ll be 3 coins and 20 tokens. Paper bags are 1 token each, do you need one?”

“Yes, please.”

“The receipt is inside. Thank you!”

Why were so many customers coming in at this time?

It was the busiest day since Rohan started his part-time job, and it could be considered a day of unprecedented sales for The Flower Bookstore.

“Do you have any books for learning the alphabet? My child wants to…”

“Is the new book by author Pascal sold out?”

“I’m looking for a book on how to talk to girls.”

Rohan calmly responded to the bustling customers stating their needs, glancing at the corner where the two were.

He couldn’t see Noa and Clara clearly, but they seemed to be doing well, being quiet.

“…”

And on the other hand, he keenly realized something.

Looking back, the very thought that he knew Clara well was rather arrogant of him.

He never expected Clara to volunteer to spend time with Noa. It was something far beyond Rohan’s expectations.

An unimaginable scenario, even for a seasoned gamer of Abyss City.

And that something was taking right before his eyes.

I need to be a bit more careful in the future.

This also applied to Ichinose and Noa, whom Rohan had a wealth of information about. Perhaps even the Princess.

Reality was free.

It wasn’t confined to a set frame.

Rohan engraved that fact in his heart once again.

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“Hum~”

“…”

Clara was starting to wonder where she got the courage to accept the offer earlier.

Just sitting next to Noa, who was humming, and holding a book was draining her mental strength in real-time.

Even the contents of the comic book she was looking at didn’t register in her mind.

“What’s our friend’s name?”

Noa suddenly asked while reading the book.

Startled, Clara flinched and answered softly.

“I, I’m Clara…! …is my name…”

“Hee, cute name. Just call me Noa.”

“Yes…”

The name Noa, the beautiful appearance that matched it, the snow-white tiger Beastkin, and the faint chill that exuded an unusual aura.

Clara concluded her thoughts with certainty.

Noa Frozenheart of Tigrova? What on earth is Oppa doing…?

A big shot, arguably the biggest Clara had ever seen in her life.

But she was somehow able to suppress her nervousness.

And it wasn’t like Clara herself had to assassinate or gather information. Unlike last time, the confidence that she could run away if she wanted to lightened her heart.

The Beastkin girl breezed through the pages quickly.

Noa’s gaze seemed to linger the longest on pages with food drawn, rather than scenes with a lot of dialogue.

After finishing her visual tasting, Noa opened her mouth again.

“I was surprised when I saw you move earlier. Wanna have a race with me next time?”

“Th, that…”

“Whoever reaches the mountain top first wins! Nose is pretty fast too, so it’ll be pretty fun if we do it together.”

“…”

“Ah! Nose is the one who entered the academy with me──.”

Clara had entered this space voluntarily, but now, she was regretting it.

She wished Rohan would come and rescue her right now.

How could she suggest playing and talking like this at their first meeting?

From Clara’s perspective, Noa was an incomprehensible person.

She wasn’t like Rohan, who carefully maintained his distance and only asked easy-to-answer questions.

This was the fear that the moment she vaguely agreed, a promise would be made. It was like ripping through the line and dancing wildly.

Just listening to what she was saying made Clara’s head spin.

“Anyway, let me know if you’re interested. I’ll set it up. Okay?”

Clara nodded slightly.

She was relieved that it didn’t lead to a forced invitation.

But the snare of small talk wouldn’t loosen there.

Noa blurted out whatever came to mind, changing the topic of conversation as if she were about to break the steering wheel.

“Clara, you look more and more like a doll, it’s amazing. Nose also looks like a doll, but her style is a little different.”

“No way…! I, I’m not like, like that…”

“Huh? I have really high standards, so I don’t say things like this often. A pretty face like this is rare!”

Clara recoiled at the sudden, direct compliment.

Just looking at the sentences, it was similar to what men flirting on the street would say, but…

Because Noa spoke out of pure admiration without any ulterior motive, the burden Clara felt was crushingly heavy.

“Dad told Nose, even if it’s not true, denying and rejecting too much takes away the charm of humility. Be confident! I bet Rohan would agree with what I said.”

“Oppa would…?”

“Should I ask him later? He seems pretty busy now, but he’ll come by at least once.”

It seemed like a golden opportunity to have Noa ask the question she couldn’t bring herself to ask, but…

What if, just in case! My kind oppa would never do that, but…!

She was also afraid that if Rohan denied it coldly without any empty words, her mental state would crumble to dust.

Just imagining it made her nervous and tremble. Clara gulped.

Noa, who had been quietly observing the girl’s strange symptoms, blinked.

A new curiosity arose, and she wanted to ask right away.

“Clara, what’s your relationship with Rohan?”

“With oppa…?”

“Yes.”

What should she answer here?

Clara, shrinking back, darted her eyes around.

“Just… An oppa… I met at the bookstore…”

“I see. That’s interesting.”

“Wh, what about you, Noa… unnie?”

“Haha! Noa unnie? Unnie sounds nice! I’m a classmate of Rohan’s.”

Noa seemed to like the title Clara used, as her tail thumped against the floor.

“I have a question…”

“Go ahead! Ask anything!”

“Tigrova, it, practices poly… polygyny, right…?”

Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t a question or curiosity about an individual.

However, Noa accepted it easily and nodded.

“Right! That’s why my eldest brother has… thirteen… wives now? I forgot.”

“Gasp!”

Seeing the girl gasp in shock, Noa giggled.

“Well, if you’re from a country without polygyny, it might seem strange. You might even be curious.”

“I was wondering… what you think about polygyny…”

At Clara’s question, Noa crossed her arms and thought for a moment.

Soon, a blue light flashed in the Beastkin girl’s eyes, and she made a face that said she had found a good answer.

“I like having lots of unnies because they give me lots of delicious food.”

“Th, that’s not it…”

“Huh? Isn’t it? It’s a huge advantage.”

What kind of notion did she have about her country’s system? Clara was curious about that.

But even just looking at what Noa was saying now, it was an answer.

She didn’t seem to have any aversion to it, did she?

“…Are there any men who don’t practice polygyny?”

“Hmm, there are, but the social perception isn’t very good.”

“Wh, why?!”

This was truly incomprehensible.

Wasn’t it something to be praised for being purely devoted?

“In Tigrova, military power is the ultimate proof. In any country, if you have military power, money and honor follow, but it’s a bit more blatant in Tigrova.”

“…How is that related to polygyny?”

“Having just one wife means you lack the financial resources and the heart to embrace many. It’s proof that you’re not fit to be a ruler! That’s what they say.”

“…”

“Ultimately, social perceptions like this differ from country to country. Well, Tigrova’s citizens don’t expect other countries to understand.”

Since Tigrova was a powerful nation, its systems and technology must have been equally advanced.

But the opinions supporting the system felt no different from a hunting society.

Should it be packaged as the boldness of living in a frozen land?

Not caring about anyone’s opinion was admirable from Clara’s point of view.

“No, Noa unnie… Would you be okay if your lover or husband practiced polygyny…?”

“Yeah! It’s good to have more people to play with!”

“…”

“In Tigrova, a woman refusing polygyny is considered no different from hindering her husband’s success. As I said earlier, if you only have one wife, you might get criticized for not being capable at crucial moments.”

Was it because she had been educated like that since birth that she could accept it?

Clara was confused by the innocent-sounding sentences.

She felt as if she was the strange one for not being able to accept it gracefully.

“Ugh…”

As the girl hid her face between the open pages of the comic book, Noa tapped her slender back with her tail.

“Is Tigrova very different from Clara’s country?”

“Yes…”

“Then I don’t think you need to force yourself to understand another country’s system. Nose also said it was hard because her brothers had so many weddings.”

“…”

How nice would it be if it could end so cleanly?

Clara, her eyes drooping, took out her phone.

She started typing a message, tapping the keyboard.

Buzz───!!!

Rohan’s smartphone vibrated as he diligently served customers.