Eleanora-san seemed quite pleased with the fact that a shop using my recipes would be opening in the capital.
However, in order for it to work out, I had to teach Zelef-san all of my recipes.
I had given him my pudding recipe some time ago, but it seemed like he had only managed to make it after failing numerous times. Unlike in Japanese cookbooks, there were no pictures in this world. Also, it appeared that I hadn’t relayed some parts of the recipe well enough. That was why we decided I would be personally teaching him this time around.
「Should we start now, then?」
「Would that really be okay?」
「There doesn’t seem to be a problem, since everybody already finished their cakes.」
As I said, all of the plates were already empty, and it was time for me to make an excuse to get away from here, so that I could save Hugging Bear from the queen. She hadn’t let go of it all this time and had managed to embrace it even while eating.
Thinking of how to rescue it, I glanced at the queen, who was now elegantly drinking tea with one hand while holding onto Hugging Bear with the other. Hugging Bear looked at me dejectedly.
「I’m going to save you, so wait for me,」I called out to it silently.
I then spoke up to begin the Hugging Bear Rescue Plan.
「Your Highness, I’m going to teach Zelef-san how to bake a cake now, so about Hugging Bear…」
「It’s fine. I will carry it.」
The queen responded and stood up with Hugging Bear still secured in her arms.
Umm, what was fine? Why would she carry it? Could it be that she was coming with us?!
「You shouldn’t bother Yuna and Zelef.」
「I won’t get in the way. I just want to taste-test Yuna’s recipes.」
The queen wanted to come with us because she wanted to eat more… Also, taste-testing wasn’t something a queen should do, right? Didn’t royal families normally have a poison tester checking their food before they ate it?
Well, that was just my own tale on royalty.
「I will go too!」
Now even Princess Flora was saying she would come with us.
Was this royal family going to be okay?
Not to mention, Princess Flora had already eaten two slices of cake. A small child shouldn’t be able to eat three slices at once.
「Well then, I will be heading back to work. Thank you for the meal, Yuna. It was delicious, as always.」
The king said before leaving the garden.
I wanted him to talk to the queen about giving me back Hugging Bear first, though…
「Okay, I’m going to begin the preparations for setting up for the shop, then.」
Eleanora-san said and followed the king out of the garden. I wanted to ask her, 「Eleanora-san, what about your job?」 but decided not to. She was the type of person who always did what they wanted.
「Yuna-chan, we should get going as well.」
The queen tapped me on the shoulder.
「I’m going, I’m going. Before that though, your Highness, please return Hugging Bear to me,」I protested silently.
Before I could do anything, the queen started to walk off with Hugging Bear resting its head on her shoulder, looking at me with a sad expression. Sorry, I couldn’t save you.
Once we arrived at the kitchen, Zelef-san closed and locked the door.
Eh, what was going on?
「This is to prevent information from leaking.」
Zelef-san answered my unsaid question.
There was indeed nobody else in the kitchen besides us.
「Whenever I’m making the food that you taught me, I always lock the door to prevent people from barging in.」
「Aren’t there other chefs that would want to come here?」
「This is my personal kitchen, so no other chefs will be coming here.」
Was it like this to prevent people from poisoning the royal family’s food?
If there were a lot of people in the kitchen, it would be difficult to figure out who added the poison. They had probably made this kitchen for the head chef only in order to prevent that from happening.
「Also, this kitchen was arranged as a place for me to make your recipes, and only I’m allowed to use it.」
Did I hear him right?
It would make sense for this place to be his private kitchen to make meals for the royal family, but he said this was just a place where he could make my food? Unbelievable.
Had they made this kitchen just to prevent the recipes from leaking? Well, that would explain why there hadn’t been any leaks so far…
Still, weren’t the royal family members’ lives more important than my recipes leaking out?
Maybe I should just pretend I hadn’t heard it…
I took all the required ingredients and utensils for making a cake out of the Bear Box and started to make it while explaining the process to Zelef-san, who was following along and taking notes. He asked some questions from time to time, but we progressed without much of a problem.
I wondered if Princess Flora and the queen were enjoying themselves. After all, all they did was watch me bake.
Partway through, Anju-san also joined in after she was done tidying up the garden.
「I see, so this is how it’s made. I have to say, you are indeed a skilled chef, Yuna-dono.」
「I am?」
「I think you’re amazing, given how young you are. Even if I were to compare you to my subordinates, your skills are in no way inferior to theirs.」
「You can’t compare her to your subordinate, Zelef.」
「I didn’t do such a thing. Also, those who have gathered here are all capable of making food for the royal family and the nobles. In a way, they are all good chefs.」
When he mentioned his subordinates, I immediately imagined them to be his apprentices, but it seemed like it was different in this castle.
Anyway, I didn’t really know whether I was amazing or not, but I could understand that he was praising me for my cooking skills.
「Bear-san is amazing?」
Princess Flora inquired.
「Yes, she is amazing.」
「I agree, she truly is amazing.」
Zelef-san and the queen both answered her.
「Bear-san, you’re amazing!」
「That’s not true at all.」
While the sponge cake was in the oven, I made some whipped cream, scooped a bit of it up with a spoon, and brought it to Princess Flora’s mouth, who ate it without concern.
「Delishus!」
As soon as the sponge cake was finished baking, I took it out of the oven, layered strawberries and whipped cream in the middle, then put some more strawberries on the top.
「It’s beautiful.」
「Yeah, and it looks delicious.」
「Thank you very much, Yuna-dono. I learned a lot.」
「You can also try switching out the strawberries with other fruits that are in season. There are many things that go well with cream, so you should experiment a bit.」
「Okay, I’ll try out as many things as I can to see which ingredients match it the best.」
「Well then, it’s time to eat it, right?」
The queen said while looking at the cake longingly.
Yep, it made sense to eat it, but could they really eat more? Well, some time had already passed since they ate at the garden, so it should be fine, right?
I glanced at Princess Flora who seemed really happy.
「I will go prepare the tea, then.」
Anju-san said and left the kitchen.
「Zelef-san, can you get us some plates and forks?」
I asked, and he didn’t waste any time fetching them.
「I bet Zelef’s subordinates would be surprised if they were to see a bear giving orders to their head chef.」
The queen said with a smile.
Oh right, Zelef-san was the head chef of this castle, even though he didn’t look nor act like one.
Zelef-san ignored the queen’s comment and brought over enough forks and plates for all of us.
I proceeded to cut the cake and placed a slice on each of the plates. I made sure to make Princess Flora’s slice smaller; she wouldn’t be able to eat her dinner if she ate too much.
「Here, Anju-san, your share.」
I told Anju-san, who had just returned after preparing tea. Good thing Zelef-san had brought a plate for her as well.
「I still have the cake you gave me before.」
She hadn’t eaten it yet, huh.
「You can give that one to the kids, so join us.」
If I remembered correctly, there were some more children of Princess Flora’s age here at the castle.
「Is that really okay?」
「Of course.」
「Anju, eat with us.」
「Anju, eat.」
「Also, please tell me what you think of it.」
「Thank you very much, everyone!」
After she distributed the tea (Princess Flora’s had milk added in), everybody started to eat the cake.
Now was my chance to get Hugging Bear back!
There was only one chair in the kitchen, and Princess Flora already had it covered, so everybody else had to eat standing up. Even though there was a table, it would be difficult for the queen to eat while still holding onto Hugging Bear.
As I had expected, the queen put Hugging Bear down on the corner of the table, so she could eat; Hugging Bear finally left her arms.
As she started to eat, Hugging Bear looked at me. I waited a bit and then nodded.
Hugging Bear slowly started to move and made its way to my side of the table while the queen was completely focused on her cake. When she finally noticed, it was already too late as Hugging Bear was out her reach, so it seemed like she was sending it off instead.
「Yuna-chan, I want Hugging Bear-chan back.」
「Don’t worry, your Highness, I’ll hold onto him for now, so please eat your cake.」
The queen continued to eat the cake while looking at Hugging Bear disappointedly. I wasn’t going to give it back even when she looked at it like that. Hugging Bear looked happy to be back in my arms. I would have to comfort it tonight.
After we finished eating, I had to answer some more of Zelef-san’s questions, and the day was slowly coming to an end.
The queen eyed Hugging Bear the entire time I was chatting with Zelef-san; she must have really liked it.
Well, Hugging Bear did feel rather nice to touch, and it was also cute.
I wondered if it was necessary to give the queen a Hugging Bear plushie, for the sake of Hugging Bear’s well-being.
How many plushies should I ask Sherry to make for me?
After leaving the castle and getting home via the Bear Gate, I had dinner and got ready for bed.
Since Swaying Bear had played with Princess Flora, and Hugging Bear had dealt with the queen, I thought of letting them recover in their Bear Gloves, but since they preferred being out, I summoned them before I went to sleep, like I always did.
Once out on my bed, they happily came up and rubbed against me.
「Thank you for today, Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear. Have a nice rest tonight.」
I dove straight under the blankets after thanking them, and they both got on my sides and assumed their usual manju shapes.
I silently wished them goodnight and soon fell asleep.
I had no urgent matters the next day, so I spent the morning in bed. Even though I wasn’t as obsessive as the queen, I did like cuddling with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. They kept napping next to me as I lazed around, and just like that, the morning went by.
I couldn’t really stay in bed for the entire day, so I switched back to the Black Bear and headed out to the tailor shop Sherry worked at.
I wasn’t sure if Princess Flora would want one, but just in case, I would have plushies of both Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear made. If she disliked it, I could just give it to the children at the orphanage or use it to decorate the shop. Heck, I could even put them in my room.
As I walked down the streets in my usual Bear outfit, I didn’t get any unpleasant glances like at the capital. Well, some people did still stare, but there wasn’t a lot of them, unlike at the capital, where most of the people threw all sorts of glances at me, from scornful looks to interested expressions, shocked responses, and more.
I had been to the tailor shop before, so I got there without a problem.
The shop sold stuff like clothing and handkerchiefs, so there were quite a few customers checking the wares. Most of the customers were local commoners, of course.
A lady in her thirties was running around the shop and helping the customers; it was Narl-san, Sherry’s employer.
Once she was done talking with other customers, she approached me.
「Oh, Yuna-chan, it’s been a while. Did you come here to buy some clothing?」
She knew that I didn’t wear any clothing other than my suit but beamed a business smile at me anyway.
「Want me to pick out some cute outfits for you?」
「While that would be nice, I came here for a different reason. Is Sherry here?」
「Sherry? She should be making clothing in the back, together with my husband.」
「Are you guys busy?」
「Not really since we have no urgent jobs at the moment. I will go and fetch her for you, so please wait a moment.」
Narl-san headed to the back of the shop and called out Sherry’s name. Soon, both of them trotted out from the back.
「Big Sis Yuna?!」
「Hi, Sherry. Sorry for bothering you during your working hours.」
Sherry shook her head.
「No problem. So, why are you here? I heard that you were looking for me.」
「Yeah, there’s something I want you to make for me.」
「You want me to make something for you?」
「If you’re busy with work, don’t worry; it can wait.」
「As I already told you earlier, we’re doing just fine, timewise. Sherry, you can take your break now, so why don’t you and Yuna-chan go to the back and talk about it there?」
Narl-san came up with a timely suggestion.
Since we got her permission, we headed to the back without arguing.
「So, what is it that you want made?」
Sherry asked while serving us both drinks and then sitting down.
「Thank you.」
I first thanked her for the drink and took a sip.
「I want you to make a some plushies for me.」
「Plushies?」
If I wasn’t wrong, things like dolls and plushies existed in this world.
I couldn’t say for sure, though, since I had never really looked too deeply into it. I had seen a child holding some sort of plushie from a distance while walking the streets before, but I couldn’t have really told what kind of animal that plushie had supposed to be, though. I had only seen the child hold onto it tightly.
「Yeah, I want you to make plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.」
「Plushies of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear?」
「Can you?」
「Yes, I can make them, no problem.」
I knew Sherry could make them.
「It would help if I could see what they look like before I start making their plushies, but I guess it’s too cramped to let them out here, right?」
Sherry said and looked around the room we were in.
It was by no means a big room; it had a table and a few chairs, plus some extra things all around, so there was no space to summon Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their regular sizes. It was a different story if I were to summon them in their cub forms.
「No, it will do.」
I responded and summoned Swaying Bear in its cub form.
「Uwahhh!」
Sherry cried out when she saw Swaying Bear.
「Big Sis Yuna, what is this small Bear-san?!」
「It’s Swaying Bear. Since it’s a summoned beast, I can make it smaller.」
I couldn’t make it bigger, though.
「It’s cute.」
Sherry commented, grasping Swaying Bear with both her hands.
「I want you to make some plushies about this big, would that be okay?」
「Y-yes. It’s fine. Oh, please give me just a moment.」
Sherry said and started to rummage through the drawer behind her. Once she found what she was looking for, she turned back to me.
「Big Sis Yuna, would it be okay if I measured it?」
Sherry said and, with a sharp movement, extended the measuring tape that was now in her hand.
「I have no problem with that. Swaying Bear, stay still okay?」
Swaying Bear cried out softly in response.
「Well then, Swaying Bear-chan, I’ll measure you now, okay?」
Sherry said and approached Swaying Bear.
「First, I’ll measure your arm.」
She pressed the measure tape against Swaying Bear’s arm and noted it down.
「Now, I’ll measure your leg. Can I measure your sole as well?」
Swaying Bear sat down and lifted up his feet, so Sherry was able to measure it more easily.
「Ok, waist this time; make sure you don’t move.」
Swaying Bear obediently stayed still and let her measure it.
「You okay with me checking your tail now?」
Swaying Bear turned around, its cute tail now facing Sherry, who didn’t waste time to measure it.
「And lastly, your head please?」
Swaying Bear nodded, and Sherry quicky measured its head multiple times, making sure to get all of the details she could.
I would have been scared to get measured like that. I actually feared getting all my sizes measured, or better, I feared knowing them. Well, I still had room and time for improvement, but that didn’t change the fact that measurement was a scary thing.
Heck, just the thought of it made me shiver.
「Big Sis Yuna, is something wrong?」
「N-nope, nothing. No need to worry about me. You got all the measurements?」
「Yes, I got everything I need.」
She neatly recorded Swaying Bear’s measurements into her notebook.
If they had been mine, I would have torn it up and burned it to ashes.
「Oh right, is it okay if I make Hugging Bear-chan’s plushie using the same measurements?」
「Yep, that’s okay.」
They should have the same measurements, right?
Well, even if there was any difference, it shouldn’t be significant.
「How long do you think it’ll take you to finish them?」
「Hmm, I do have my job I need to focus on. Maybe if I did it during the night…」
「Sherry, what are you talking about?」
A man in his early thirties suddenly barged in from the adjacent room.
「Temoka-san.」
Temoka-san was the other owner of the tailor shop, and also took care of Shuri. He taught her how to make clothes and improve her embroidery.
「Yuna-chan, it’s been a while.」
「Yeah, it’s been a while indeed. I’m borrowing Sherry for a bit.」
「Oh, that’s fine. The shop isn’t that busy anyway. So, what seems to be the problem?」
He seemed to be a nice person.
「Big Sis Yuna asked me to make plushies of Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan for her.」
「And by bear, you mean that?」
He said and nudged his head towards Swaying Bear, which was still sitting on top of the table.
「Yep, that’s Swaying Bear-chan.」
Temoka-san then took some time to compare the measurements Sherry had written down in her notebook to Swaying Bear.
「Hmm, interesting. In this case, you can take a break from working here for a while.」
「But…」
Sherry was perplexed by his sudden proposal.
Well, of course she would be surprised; she was just told to take a break from work.
「Like I said earlier, we aren’t a busy shop. Narl and I did just fine on our own before you started working here. Besides, I think this will be a good practice for you, so you should try making them.」
「Thank you so much!」
「However, once you’re done, you have to come back here. There are still many things we have to teach you.」
「Okay!」
Sherry replied happily.
From the looks of it, she was in good hands.
For some unknown reason, this couple didn’t have children of their own, so they doted on Sherry like she was their own daughter.
Headmistress had even talked to me about them maybe adopting her.
『Those two are both nice people. I think it’ll be fine as long as they treasure Sherry.』
『I agree.』
『Well, we will have to see if Sherry accepts them as her parents on her own, though.』
That was what our conversation had been like. I wasn’t sure if my opinion had been of any help to her, though.
For now, we just waited to see how things went; if the adoption was sprung upon her suddenly, Sherry might reject it. Headmistress had probably just told them to get along with her and treat her as their daughter.
So, that was why I just watched how things unfolded while not saying anything.
After all, all I had done was argue with my parents, so the only advice I could give was based on my common sense.
「Also, feel free to use anything from the shop to make those plushies.」
「Really?」
「Yeah, since making them will be practice for you.」
Temoka-san said, gently patting Sherry’s head.
Wait, I couldn’t just let him lend me Sherry and also provide all the materials.
「I’ll pay for all the material costs and the labour fees, so don’t worry about making mistakes and take as much time as you need, okay?」
「Big Sis Yuna…」
I intended on paying for everything from the start, so it wasn’t a big deal anyway.
I guess the only issue was that I didn’t know how much commissioning plushies cost. Making them from scratch should be quite expensive, right?
「Just bill me all the materials used, including those of mistakes.」
Hmm, what an admirable thing this was for me to say. Well, there was much to learn from mistakes when creating things.
Just like in the game, if one strategy against an enemy failed, then I would use a different one to ultimately win the fight.
She would be making bear plushies, which nobody had tried before, so there was no need for her to worry about the expenses that would build up from the mistakes.
「Temoka-san, please don’t get angry if Sherry makes a mistake and wastes the materials, okay?」
「I didn’t plan on scolding her to begin with, you know.」
I felt reassured knowing I could leave Sherry in his hands.
「Then, Temoka-san, can I start working on it today?」
「If I said no while you’re making such an expression, I would probably be punished by the heavens. We have no urgent jobs, so feel free to start immediately.」
「Thank you very much.」
Sherry expressed her thanks for receiving permission.
In order to not get in Sherry’s way, I thanked Temoka-san and left the store.
I really looked forward to seeing the finished product.