Rohan wanted nothing more than to leave the counter and check on how Clara and Noah were doing.
But it wasn’t possible.
Just as Clara had agreed to watch manga with Noah, the once-quiet bookstore was suddenly flooded with customers, like a wave crashing ashore.
"That’ll be 3 coins and 20 tokens. A paper bag is 1 token; would you like one?"
"Yes, please include the bag."
"I’ve put the receipt inside. Thank you!"
Why did the customers have to come in at this exact moment?
Since starting his part-time job, Rohan had never experienced such a busy day, to the point that the sales for the Flower Spider Lily Bookstore could have set a record.
"Do you have any books for teaching kids to read? My child’s just starting out..."
"Has Pascal’s new release gone out of print?"
"I’m looking for a book about how to talk to women—it’s for a friend."
As customers kept coming in with various requests, Rohan assisted them one by one, occasionally glancing toward the corner where Clara and Noah were.
Though he couldn’t see them clearly, the silence suggested they were doing fine.
And yet, he realized something profound.
Looking back, he understood how arrogant it had been to think he truly knew Clara.
That Clara would voluntarily spend time with Noah and agree to her suggestion was a situation Rohan couldn’t have predicted in the slightest.
As a gamer who had immersed himself in Abyss City, he had never envisioned, let alone imagined, such a scenario.
And yet, here it was, unfolding right before his eyes.
I’ll need to be more careful moving forward.
This wasn’t just about Clara. It applied to Ichinose, Noah, and maybe even the princess.
Reality was free from the constraints of pre-defined rules.
It wasn’t bound to the rigid framework he thought he knew.
Rohan etched that truth into his heart once more.
***
"Hm~ hm~"
"..."
Clara was starting to question where she had found the courage to accept Noah’s invitation earlier.
Now, just sitting next to Noah, who was humming a tune while flipping through a manga, Clara felt her mental energy draining in real-time.
She couldn’t even focus on the contents of the manga in front of her.
"What’s your name?"
Noah’s sudden question caught Clara off guard, making her flinch.
"M-my name is Clara..." she stammered.
"Ah, what a cute name. You can just call me Noah."
"O-okay..."
The name Noah, associated with her striking beauty, snow-white fur reminiscent of eternal snow, and the faint, chilly aura she exuded—
Clara thought for a moment and came to a conclusion.
Is she Noah Frozenheart of Tigrova? What is Oppa even doing...
Noah was undoubtedly the most significant person Clara had ever encountered.
Even so, she managed to suppress her nervousness.
After all, she wasn’t here to assassinate or gather intel.
Unlike last time, she felt confident that she could run away if things got too overwhelming.
The tiger girl’s pages fluttered as she quickly flipped through the manga.
Noah lingered the longest on pages featuring food rather than those packed with dialogue.
After visually savoring the illustrations, she spoke again.
"I was surprised at how fast you moved earlier. Wanna race me sometime?"
"T-that’s..."
"First to the top of the mountain wins! Nosé’s pretty fast too, so it’d be fun to race together."
"..."
"Oh! Nosé is someone I enrolled with—"
Clara regretted stepping into this space of her own volition.
At that moment, she wanted Rohan to swoop in and rescue her.
How could someone be this friendly and suggest playing together on their first meeting?
From Clara’s perspective, Noah was incomprehensible.
Rohan knew how to navigate boundaries delicately, asking easy questions that didn’t overwhelm.
But Noah? She completely disregarded the line, smashing through it and dancing right over it.
Even just listening to her made Clara’s head spin.
"Anyway, let me know if you’re interested. I can make it happen. Got it?"
Clara nodded slightly.
At least it hadn’t escalated into a forced invitation, giving her a small sense of relief.
But the conversation trap didn’t end there.
Noah, seemingly uninterested in slowing down, threw out another comment with reckless abandon.
"You know, Clara, you look like a doll. It’s so fascinating. Nosé looks like a doll too, but your style’s a little different."
"N-not at all! Someone like me isn’t..."
"Huh? I’ve got really high standards, and I don’t say stuff like this often. Faces like yours are rare!"
The sudden, direct compliment left Clara reeling, her head shaking in disbelief.
If you only looked at the words, it sounded like something a random guy might say while flirting on the street.
But Noah said it with no ulterior motive, just pure admiration.
Still, for Clara, it felt like a weighty burden, almost crushing in its sincerity.
"Papa told Nosé that denying and rejecting compliments too much can make you seem insincere instead of humble. Have confidence! I bet Rohan would agree with me!"
"Oppa would...?"
"Should we ask him later? He looks busy right now, but he’ll come over at least once."
The idea of Noah asking a question Clara couldn’t bring herself to ask seemed like a golden opportunity.
But what if, by some chance—though kind Oppa would never do this—he bluntly denies it without mincing words?
Just imagining it made her anxious. Clara swallowed hard as a shiver ran down her spine.
Noah, observing Clara’s peculiar reaction, blinked curiously.
Her curiosity piqued, she decided to ask something else.
"So, Clara, what kind of relationship do you have with Rohan?"
"W-with Oppa...?"
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"Yeah."
How should she answer?
Clara shrank into herself, her eyes darting nervously around the room.
"He’s just... someone I know from the bookstore..."
"I see. That’s interesting."
"What about you, Noah unnie?"
"Haha! Noah unnie? I like how that sounds! I’m his classmate."
Noah’s tail thumped happily against the floor, clearly enjoying the title Clara had used for her.
"I have a question..."
"Go ahead, ask me anything!"
"In Tigrova, um... polygamy is practiced, right?"
To Noah’s surprise, it wasn’t a personal question.
She nodded easily.
"Yep! My eldest brother has, uh... ten? Maybe more wives? I forget."
"Gasp!"
Clara’s shocked expression made Noah laugh.
"Well, if you’re from a country without polygamy, it probably seems unusual or even fascinating."
"I was just wondering... how do you feel about it?"
At Clara’s question, Noah crossed her arms, pondering for a moment.
Her blue eyes glinted with a spark of realization before she grinned, as if finding the perfect answer.
"I like it because I get more big sisters who bring me lots of delicious food!"
"T-that’s not what I meant..."
"Huh? Why not? That’s a huge perk!"
Clara had been curious about Noah’s deeper thoughts on the system.
But Noah’s casual remarks seemed to reflect an ingrained acceptance, with no signs of discomfort.
"Are there men in Tigrova who don’t practice polygamy?"
"Yeah, but society doesn’t think highly of them."
"Why?!"
That was truly baffling to Clara.
Shouldn’t such devotion be celebrated as a virtue?
"In Tigrova, strength is everything. Anywhere in the world, strength brings wealth and honor, but in Tigrova, it’s even more straightforward."
"And how does that relate to polygamy?"
"Having only one wife is sometimes seen as a sign that you lack the resources or capacity to support more. People might even say it shows you’re not fit to be a ruler! That’s how the thinking goes."
"..."
"It’s just how society works differently in each country. Besides, Tigrova’s people don’t really care if outsiders understand or not."
As a powerful nation, Tigrova was likely advanced in many aspects.
Yet, the reasoning behind its traditions felt primitive, almost like a throwback to a hunting society.
Perhaps it was better to frame it as the rugged charm of a people thriving in harsh, frozen lands.
Their indifference to others’ opinions was something Clara couldn’t help but admire in its own way.
"So, Noah unnie... you wouldn’t mind if your partner or husband practiced polygamy?"
"Not at all! It’d be fun to have more people to hang out with!"
"..."
"In Tigrova, rejecting polygamy is seen as holding your husband back from success. Like I said, if a man only has one wife, people might criticize him for lacking what it takes to lead."
Maybe it was the way she had been raised that made Noah so accepting of it.
Clara, on the other hand, felt bewildered.
Listening to Noah’s cheerful tone made her feel like she was the odd one for not being able to take it in stride.
"Ugh..."
Hiding her face between the open manga, Clara felt Noah’s tail gently tap her back.
"Is Tigrova really that different from your country?"
"Y-yes..."
"Then I don’t think you need to force yourself to understand another country’s customs. Even Nosé said it was exhausting attending all my brothers’ weddings."
"..."
If only things could be concluded that easily.
Clara sighed, her weary gaze dropping as she pulled out her phone.
Her fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard as she began composing a message.
Bzzz!
In the middle of helping customers, Rohan’s phone buzzed.