The day of the party came. I was cornered, with no way to escape.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would come to this.
I had been betrayed by the ones I trusted most. No longer would I be able to believe in anyone.
With my mind reeling from the shock of the betrayal, I was unable to find a way out.
The traitors closed in on me. There was no time to think.
「Okay, Yunsan. We've prepared a dress for you, so let's get you all dressed up.」
If it had been Mylene-san or Eleanorsan, I would have ran off even if I had to shake them, but it was Misa's tenth birthday today, and the one approaching me with a beautiful dress in her hands was a ten-year-old girl.
「Noa, let's talk first. We just have to talk this out.」
「The Bear-san outfit matches you greatly, but since it's Misa's party today, you should wear a dress.」
Noa took another step toward me, with a black and white dress in her hands.
Apparently, Fina and Noa picked out the dress together. They said they picked it because the colors matched Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.
It certainly was a beautiful dress, I couldn't deny that.
If I was back in my former world, and I had to choose between wearing a Bear Suit and a beautiful dress, I would, without a doubt, choose the dress. I was a girl, after all. Although just slightly, I wanted to try wearing that beautiful dress.
Though, I wasn't sure if I had the courage to take off my Bear Suit at this point…
A normal girl would be happy to wear such a pretty dress. If only I was normal…
「Fina, why didn't you say anything?」
Well, even if she had warned me in advance, I wouldn't have known how to respond.
It would have given me some time to think about it at least, though.
「Because you had left me and had gone home by yourself, Big Sis Yuna.」
She was talking about the time I had ditched her at Noa's place when Noa had dragged her off to make her try on dresses.
「Also, Nosama had told me to keep it a secret since she wanted to surprise you on the day of the party. She was sure it would make you happy.」
It was true, any normal girl would be happy to receive such a surprise.
They didn't know how many times they would get the chance to wear a dress in their life, and I was sure they would happy to hear that they got the opportunity to wear such a pretty dress.
However, I was so used to wearing my Bear Suit at this point that I would be embarrassed if I were to suddenly wear a pretty dress.
「Yunsan, won't you wear it for our sakes?」
「Try it on at least to see if it will even fit you.」
I wore my Bear Suit all the time, so they shouldn't know what my sizes were, right?
I kept my three sizes top secret. Nobody knew them.
「Don't worry, Lalsan judged your height, and I confirmed your sizes when we were in the bath together.」
The bath? When?
I had gone to the bath with Noa only recently.
Ah, she was talking about the time during the king's birthday party!
That being said, there was no way she could have known my sizes just from seeing me out of my Bear Suit that one time.
How many months ago was that? People normally forgot such things after several months had passed.
I was sure that I grew during that time, and my weight… must not have changed at all! Well, maybe my breasts grew a bit, but…
「I also confirmed it during our bath yesterday, and it didn't seem like your body changed much, so it should be fine.」
Noa proudly said and smiled.
A child's innocent declaration could hurt a lot, you know.
I just received some real emotional damage.
If things continued like this, I was most likely going to faint before the party even began.
「Why are you so against it? It will surely make Misa happy.」
「Ugh.」
「Also, you're very pretty, so a dress like this will match your looks perfectly.」
「…」
「Fina, you also want to see her wear a dress, right?」
「Yes!」
Fina looked at me with eyes that were telling me,「I will be wearing a dress, so please wear one, too.」
Escaping this room would be easy but doing so would make it difficult for me to attend the party.
I had to go to Misa's party because I didn't want to be rude to her as she went through the trouble of sending me an invitation, so running away was not really an option. Ugh, there was no escape!
「O-okay, fine. I only have one condition, though.」
As my last resort, I gave Noa my terms, who reluctantly accepted them.
Thus, we all changed into our dresses.
Just like the other day, I again thought how cute Noa and Misa looked in their dresses, but when I looked at Fina, I realized she didn't lose to them in terms of cuteness.
Noa wore a red dress, Misa wore blue, and Fina wore light green.
While Noa and Misa were used to wearing dresses and walked around confidently, Fina was trying to make herself look smaller due to embarrassment.
「Uuu, this is embarrassing.」
I was the one who should be embarrassed.
I was wearing a black and white dress, the sizes of which matched me perfectly. How could they have figured out my sizes just by looking at me? Not to mention, it fitting perfectly meant that I hadn't grown at all.
「Yunsan, it matches you so well! You look very pretty!」
Noa complimented me, but I still felt awkward.
Even in my former world, I had never worn a dress. How many girls my age had worn a party dress anyway? I was pretty sure there probably weren't any.
I looked at the mirror and got even more embarrassed.
Maybe it was because I saw myself wearing something I wasn't used to. I honestly didn't think that the dress fit me at all.
「Yunsan, your long, black hair is pretty, so it really goes well with the white and black dress.」
Noa's golden hair seemed much more beautiful to me, though.
Honestly, even though Noa complimented me, I wondered what other people would think of me?
It was difficult to judge myself.
「Uuu, Big Sis Yuna is pretty, but I don't think such a pretty dress suits me.」
Fina was even harsher on herself than I. Well, I thought that Fina was more suited for wearing dresses, so I decided to try to make Fina feel better about herself.
「Fina, unlike me, you're cute, so it suits you just fine.」
「No, you're the cute one, Big Sis Yuna.」
Now both of us were even more embarrassed.
We should just stop trying to compliment each other for now.
「Both of you look good, so don't worry. I bet Mother and Father will be surprised, too.」
Right, other people would see me wearing this, as well. Sorry, Misa, but I really wanted to go home right now, and Fina looked like she was thinking the same thing.
I gave up, returned to where I left my Bear Suit, and put on the Bear Shoes and the Bear Gloves.
「Yunsan, you're really putting those on?」
That was the condition I had made for wearing the dress.
I had agreed to put on the dress as long as I could wear my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves.
And, this was how I ended up wearing a black and white dress, accompanied by my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves.
I was too afraid to look myself in the mirror now. I knew, without even looking, that I must look weird.
Ever since I had come to this world, I had worn my Bear Suit twenty-four-seven. I depended on it too much, which was why I was reluctant to completely part from it.
Even with only the gloves and shoes on, I still couldn't stay calm.
This was how some players played the game. They wielded a really strong weapon while wearing paper-thin armor. Those players always got demolished while doing quests.
I completely felt like one of them right now. I still couldn't understand why those players liked to use that kind of build, even though they just died from taking one hit… Must be the difference between games and reality.
I gently patted my strongest piece of equipment (the Bear Costume) before transferring it into the Bear Box.
Once everyone was ready, we headed to the party hall.
It was a different hall from the one where Gran-san's party had been held.
That was because there were less attendants since the party was for friends and family only.
It was mainly just Misa's family, the Foschuroze family, and the people who worked for Gran-san.
By the time we entered the hall, quite a few people had already gathered inside, including Cliff and Eleanorsan.
「Oh my, Yunchan. You're wearing a really cute outfit today.」
Yes, and it was all thanks to her daughter.
「Still, umm, what's with your hands and feet?」
Cliff was shocked when he noticed I was also wearing my Bear Gloves and Bear Shoes.
I knew it looked weird; he didn't have to point it out…
「Father, you feel the same way, huh. Yunsan said that she would only wear the dress if she is allowed to keep her Bear-san hands and feet. She is so pretty in the dress, too; it's such a waste.」
They could say whatever they wanted, but I wasn't taking them off.
I couldn't use magic if I didn't have the Bear Gloves equipped, and I couldn't jump around quickly without the Bear Shoes on my feet.
The Bear Suit would protect me from any surprise attacks, but, as long as that didn't happen, the Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves were enough to deal with pretty much everything, and that was why I couldn't bear part from them.
On the side note, I couldn't run at all without the Bear Shoes. I had never ran since elementary school, so I was pretty sure that if I didn't wear the Bear Shoes, the girls would completely leave me behind in a race.
I thought that the children at the orphanage were amazing, being able to chase the cluckers all day long.
「Anyway, it feels really odd not seeing you in your bear suit.」
I felt the same way; I just couldn't stay calm without it.
「Still, the dress suits you very well. I’m sure that once the boys get a look at you, marriage proposals will come flying your way.」
No, they wouldn’t. Also, I didn't want to receive them, either.
「Forget about me. You should compliment your daughter instead.」
「Of course, Noa and Finchan are cute, but seeing you wear a dress is more shocking.」
I sighed and looked for a place to sit, but I wasn't sure where I could go.
I had never been to a noble's party, so I didn't know if there were any seating arrangements. As I was in the middle of worrying about it, Meshun-san approached me.
「Yunsama and Finsama, please take your seats over there.」
Okay, so there was a seating arrangement. Oh, now that I looked more closely, it was arranged so the families were sitting together.
First came the Foschuroze family, then there was the Faren Gramm family, and next to them were Fina and I. Then, just a little further away, came all the people who worked at the mansion.
Fina and I took our seats and waited for the party to officially begin.
Hmm, dresses felt quite chilly to wear. My Bear Suit was able to adjust my body temperature, so I never had to worry about it. Not to mention, this dress was short, so it made sense for my legs to feel a bit chilly.
I missed my Bear Suit already, even though I had just taken it off.
After some time had passed, Gran-san, Misa's parents, and Misa herself entered the room.
Gran-san took a look around the room, and his gaze stopped on me.
「Oh, it's Yuna. I almost didn't recognize you.」
He should have recognized me sooner.
I wasn't even covering myself with my Bear Hoodie.
「Big Sis Yuna, you're so pretty.」
「Thanks.」
I thanked Misa for her genuine compliment; children’s honest opinions always made me happy.
Now that everybody was seated, the party began.
Author's Note:
Finally, after 740,000 characters, we got Yuna to take off her costume and put on a dress.
I wanted her to wear something different before we get to the rumored swimsuit event, which brings us to this chapter.
Oh, the swimsuit event? It won't come for a while longer.
Chapter 190 – Bear-san Brings Out the Birthday Cake
When the party began, Zelef-san's cooking was brought out.
Wow, so this was the food made by the royal head chef. I had eaten some of his regular dishes before, but I had never had the chance to try his party food.
All sorts of delicious-looking foods were lined up on the table.
The food was arranged beautifully. It was colorful and pleasing to both the eyes and nose. It was definitely not just a regular lunch set.
Once all the food was set down, we were told to help ourselves, so everybody engrossed themselves with eating.
I didn't know what the proper etiquette was, but I assumed I could just eat normally.
When I looked at Fina beside me, I saw that she also looked troubled and was looking at me. She shouldn't look at me, I had no idea how to properly eat at a noble's party, either.
All we could do was watch how other people ate and mimic them.
「Should we just eat like Noa?」
I offered an option.
We were both sitting diagonally across from Noa, who was enjoying her food using a fork and a spoon.
Looking at her eat, it became obvious to me that nobody should complain as long as we didn't eat like total slobs. Also, they would most likely tell us what we were doing wrong, and we could just fix it then.
Good manners or not, I wanted to taste Zelef-san's cooking now that I finally had the chance to, so I should eat carefully anyway.
To start with, I drank some of the delicious-looking soup.
It was different from the soup made by Anzu, but it was just as delicious.
I should ask Zelef-san to teach me how to make party food sometime. Maybe I should also ask Anzu to show me how to make some of her dishes as well. Then I could eat it whenever I wanted.
As time passed, my arms, legs, and neck got more and more chilly, so I couldn't sit still. The Bear Suit really was the best, since it adjusted my body temperature. All I had to do was ignore its appearance. I really missed its fluffiness.
Also, I had to be careful to not dirty this dress, since I was just borrowing it. I had to be extra careful as food would most likely leave a permanent mark.
I had no idea how much a dress like this cost, but I was pretty sure it was expensive. Well, it wasn't like I couldn't pay for it.
Noa most likely wouldn't tell me to pay even if I got the dress dirty, so I probably didn't have to worry about that anyway.
Still, I noticed Fina was also afraid of dirtying her dress, as she was only taking small bites of her food and was barely able to eat anything.
「So, Misa, you've finally turned 10 years old today…」
Misa's mother said, turning to her daughter.
「Yes, I'm now the same age as Big Sister Noa.」
「Yes, but in a couple of months, I will turn 11, so I'm still your older sister.」
Noa declared that she was still the older sister, even though they were of the same age now.
True, being born first made her the older one, so it didn't matter if they were the same age now.
「If only I was born a year earlier. Then I would have been your older sister instead.」
Misa said, a bit dejectedly.
That reminded me, Fina was also 10 years old. When was her birthday?
Thinking about the environment Fina grew up in, she probably never got to celebrate her birthday. Maybe I should discuss throwing a surprise party for her with Terumi-san.
When I first came into this world, Fina had been the one who had helped me the most.
Yeah, that seemed like a good idea, I really should keep it in mind.
Zelef-san and Botts-san were also attending the party. The maids who had brought out the food sat down nearby and joined in on the feast, while Botts-san held a critique session with Zelef-san.
They were discussing things like the seasoning, whether the taste was strong or light, if other ingredients could be substituted into this dish, and so on.
Botts-san's hands had healed enough that he could now somewhat use a spoon and fork again.
However, everytime he raised one to his mouth, he lightly flinched in pain. Even so, he seemed to be having fun discussing the food with Zelef-san.
It didn't seem like he could hold and use a kitchen knife yet, though. Cooking demanded a lot of precise movements, after all.
Noa was having fun talking with Eleanorsan, who she hadn't seen in a while, and Cliff, who had been busy lately as well.
I heard Noa ask about Shia, who was at the capital, and the conversation quickly turned from what Shia had been doing lately, to what I had been like when I acted as her guard. Why had the conversation turned to me?
Normally, wouldn't they talk about themselves, since they hadn't met for a long time?
After some more time passed, Noa handed Misa her present. As I began to wonder what it was, Misa unveiled a ribbon.
That was a cute present for a 10-year-old. I was glad her present was appropriate for her age. The way I looked at the two noble girls would have probably changed if she had received something expensive, like gemstones or dresses.
I had thought that it was likely to happen since they were nobles, but seeing Noa's present made me realize my worry had been for nothing.
As I started planning the timing to give Noa my present, I noticed Fina looking at me, like she wanted to ask me if something was wrong.
Our presents to her were the cake and two plushies.
We were now at the midpoint of the party, with most of the food already gone.
Maybe it was time to bring out the cake soon?
「Misa, can I have a minute?」
「Yes, what is it?」
「Fina and I have a present for you, too.」
「A present?」
「It's a dessert, and we would be happy if you ate it.」
From the Bear Box, I took out the two-layer cake Fina and I had made, and placed it right in front of Misa.
Misa seemed very curious as she had never seen cake before.
The cake was beautifully lined with strawberries, and Fina had even written 『Happy Birthday』 with strawberry cream in the middle.
「What a beautiful dessert.」
Misa's mother commented on the cake.
「Yes, it almost seems like a waste to eat this. Wait, how do we even eat it?」
It's a large two-layered cake, meaning it would be hard for one person to eat the entire thing, so I told Misa to split it up and share it with everyone.
「We are cutting it?!」
「You can't eat it unless you cut it and split it up.」
「Uuu, but that will ruin the words you wrote on top.」
Fina got embarrassed when Misa said that.
「We will be happy as long as you don't forget the writing and taste the cake.」
「Okay, I'll remember it!」
Misa nodded and gave the words written on the cake a long stare, then gave us permission to cut it.
As I put the knife into the cake, however, Misa quietly cried out 「Ahh…」in a sad voice.
We had to cut the cake, so I really hoped this wasn't too hard on her.
「Yunsan, Fina, did the two of you make it yourself?」
Noa asked us while I was still in the middle of cutting the cake.
「Fina didn't know what to get you for your birthday, so I suggested we should make a cake together. Cakes are tasty, so we thought you would be happy to receive one.」
「Uuu, that's not fair. I wanted to make a cake with you as well.」
Noa pouted.
「Okay, do you want to make it with us next time?」
「Really? It's a promise, okay!?」
「I… I want to join in as well.」
「Okay, how about we all make a cake together, like when we made the pudding?」
「Would that really be okay?」
「Yes, of course. In exchange, I will have the two of you keep the recipe a secret.」
「Okay!」
Just as we made that promise, I finished cutting the two-layered cake into eight slices, perfectly splitting the writing as well.
The slices went to Misa, Misa's parents, Gran-san, Eleanorsan, Cliff, Noa, and Fina.
I didn't want any, so I didn't cut a slice for myself. Fina looked at me like she wanted to ask if I was really okay with that, so…
「I have the cake Elensan and the children working at the shop made for me, so you don't have to worry about me.」
I took Elensan's cake out of the Bear Box and passed it around to the others.
It wasn't a two-layered cake like Misa's, but they both followed the same recipe, so the taste should be more or less the same.
Once the cake was successfully passed along to everyone, we all started to eat it together.
「It's delicious.」
「Yes, it really is.」
「I've eaten one before, but this one is better.」
「I really wish you two would have let me join when you made it.」
Gran-san and Misa, who had never eaten cake before, complimented it first, followed by Noa and Cliff, who had already eaten it once.
「Yuna, if you can make such delicious food, why don't you become a chef instead of being an adventurer?」
Gran-san asked, probably because he didn't know much about me.
「Old Man Gran, she already owns two shops of her own, and does other types of businesses as well.」
「Really?」
「Her shops are so popular that even my own daughter is a regular.」
「Of course, the food at Yunsan's shop is really good.」
「Big Sister Noire, that's not fair!」
I didn't know about that. Either way, excitement was brewing over me even though it was Misa's birthday party.
Noa proudly boasted about how delicious the food at my shop was while Misa enviously listened to her stories.
She kept saying, 「That's not fair.」, but continued listening anyway.
I looked over to Zelef-san and saw Botts-san and Meshun-san were in shock after tasting the cake.
「This is delicious. I already thought about this after tasting her pudding, but just who is this young lady? 」
「She is an adventurer, but also a chef I respect very much.」
Zelef-san answered Botts-san's question.
I wished he would stop telling people how much he respected me…
If the fact that the royal head chef respected me spread, it would surely be troublesome for me.
Also, I wasn't a chef.
「I just don't understand how something like this can be made…」
Botts-san said as he scooped up some cream with his spoon and ate it.
「I learned how to make it from Yundono, but I can't teach you.」
I felt like Zelef-san was giving off a sense of superiority there.
Botts-san looked a bit upset by Zelef-san's attitude and turned to me instead, but I ignored him.
I couldn't teach him how to make it, after all.
I had only started selling it recently, and I was planning to serve it at the shop in the capital that was opening soon. If the method of making whipped cream spread in this town before I started selling it at the capital, that could be a problem for the sales there.
I turned back to Misa, who had just finished listening to Noa boast about me. I also noticed her plate was already empty.
She looked like she still wanted more, but there was other food remaining, and a slice from a two-layered cake was double the size of a normal one, so she would get a stomachache if she ate more.
Yeah, it would be problematic if people got stomach aches, so I decided against taking out more cake.
If anybody wanted to eat more, I could always bring some out tomorrow. Zelef-san had made so much food for us, and it shouldn't be wasted.
「It was really good. Thank you, Big Sis Yuna, Finchan.」
「We put a lot of effort into it, so hearing you say that makes me happy.」
Fina also looked quite happy when she heard Misa's compliment.
Now, we just had to give her the bear plushies.
Author Note:
I'm sorry for cutting off a chapter in the middle of the party.
I wanted to write until she gave the plushie, but I couldn't do it, so the chapter is a bit shorter this time.
We managed to exterminate the Big Mole without anyone getting injured.
「Now we don't have to worry about this place anymore.」
According to Marina, there shouldn't be any more Big Moles appearing.
Big Moles went to places with lots of food and gave birth there.
They gave birth to many moles at once, so the damage got worse the longer people took to subjugate them.
As expected of another world's biology. The moles here were nothing like the moles from my former world.
We just had to finish off the leftover moles now, but it was about time we called it a day.
The people waiting for us at the mansion might get concerned if we stayed out too late, so we decided to head back.
「Marina, Elle, thank you for letting us tag along today.」
「No problem. I'm happy that I got to spend time with Misansama today.」
「Misansama, please call for us if anything happens, okay?」
The two of them decided to stay until Elle's magic ran out, so the three girls and I headed back on our own.
We passed by the big tree where someone was taking a nap. I tried to catch a glimpse of them, but didn't see anyone. They had still been there when we were exterminating the Big Mole, though… They must have left because we were making such a big commotion about it.
Halfway to the mansion, I took a look at the three girls. Their clothes and faces were all dirty, which was normal after walking around a field. Their skirts were especially bad.
I was pretty sure that people would get mad at me if I brought them home like this. Yeah, it would be awkward to go back without cleaning ourselves first.
We couldn't do anything about the clothing, but we should at least wash our faces.
「Okay, stay still everyone.」
I soaked a towel with water magic and wiped their faces.
Their faces were clean now, but their clothes were still dirty… The maids would get mad about that, right?
I thought up some excuses as we continued our way back to the mansion. When we got to the gate, we were met by someone unexpected, who was also about to enter.
「Mother!」
Noa called out and ran to her mother, who turned around in surprise.
「Noa?!」
Eleanorsan smiled when she recognized her daughter.
「How have you been doing?」
「I'm doing well, but why are you here, Mother?」
「I'm here to see my beloved daughter, of course.」
Eleanorsan was about to reach out and hug Noa but stopped.
「Noa, you're a bit dirty.」
Noa took a look at herself.
Her pretty clothing was indeed covered in dirt.
Since we had no excuses for this, Eleanorsan should get mad at me, as I was the one in charge of the girls.
「Eleanorsan, I'm sorry. I took the girls to a field.」
「It's not your fault. It's because I said I wanted to go.」
Misa tried to take the blame.
「Big Sis Yuna did nothing wrong.」
「Huhu, I'm not mad. When I was a child, I got my clothes even dirtier than this.」
Elearnorsan laughed and hugged Noa, not minding her dirty clothes at all.
「Mother, you'll get dirty too.」
「There is no mother in the world who won't hug her own daughter even if she gets dirty in the process.」
「M-Mother!」
Noa sounded concerned, but her smile told a different story.
「Okay, but why are you really here, Eleanorsan?」
「Hmm… It's true I came here to see my daughter. I guess it's 10 percent work, 10 percent Cliff, and 80 percent Noa.」
I didn't even know how could I begin to retort to that.
Shouldn't she split it equally between Cliff and Noa?
Also, wasn't the work most important here?
「I also wanted to talk to you, Yunchan. I just have to greet Gran-san first, so let's head inside.」
It didn't take long for Meshun-san to approach us once we entered the mansion. As soon as she got a closer look, however…
「Why is everyone so dirty?!」
Meshun-san cried out, seeing the three girls covered in dirt. She looked quite angry.
「Meshun, I'm sorry. It's my fault.」
Misa apologized and told her about going to the fields with Marina.
「I said I wanted to go, too, so it's not just your fault, Misa.」
「Me too, I said I wanted to go, too.」
Noa and Fina stuck up for Misa.
Seeing them support each other like that, Meshun-san's expression softened.
「I'm not really that mad.」
「You're not?」
Misa was happy to hear that.
「That's right; I'm not angry, so could the three of you please head into the bath and clean yourselves? I cannot let you eat looking like that.」
The three girls did as they were told and headed to the bath as Meshun-san saw them off with a smile.
「It's been a while since I've seen Misansama this happy. Yunsan, please join them, too.」
「I'll go later. I need to talk to Eleanorsan first.」
「…Eleanorsama?!」
Meshun-san seemed to have only noticed how dirty the girls were and was shocked to realize Eleanorsan was there the entire time.
「It's been a while, Meshun.」
「I'm terribly sorry, I did not notice you at all.」
Meshun-san apologized with a bow.
「It's okay, you don't have to worry about it. I showed up unannounced, so I'm partly to blame. I want to see Gran-san if that is okay?」
「Yes, I think it should be fine right now. He has no more guests for the day.」
Based on their conversation this morning, Gran-san had been speaking with a lot of people.
「Yunchan, I'm going to talk to Gran-san first, so you can head into the bath, too.」
「Okay, thank you. I would just create more work for the maids if I kept walking around like this…」
Meshun-san looked at me.
「Yunsama, you also went to the fields, right?」
「Yeah, I did.」
「You're not as dirty as the girls. I can't tell from your black foot, but your white foot is still clean.」
I lifted up my foot and looked at the sole.
「This suit is made of some special material, so it doesn't get dirty.」
My Bear Suit required no cleaning. It remained clean even after I had worn it for a year, with no stain or odour.
Even if muddy water splashed onto me, the Bear Suit still wouldn't get dirty.
「How mysterious.」
Meshun-san tilted her head as she observed the Bear Suit.
「Yunchan, take your time in the bath. I'm sure you're tired from having to look after the girls all day long.」
I didn't think I could relax if I took a bath with them, though.
Well, maybe it would be fine since Noa and Misa were well-educated nobles, and they wouldn't play around in the bath (the Bear Bath was a different story).
Also, Fina was a good girl and knew how to behave herself.
I headed towards the bath after promising Eleanorsan I would meet her later.
Once I entered the changing room, the three girls were already undressed.
「Yunsan, you're so slow.」
「I had to talk to Meshun-san and Eleanorsan.」
「Let's go inside!」
「I'll come after I undress, so you three should go in first.」
The three of them did as I told them to while I took my time to take off my Bear Suit before following them.
Gran-san owned a spectacular bath, being a feudal lord and all. It was so big that all four of us could get in with plenty of space to spare.
When I entered, Noa was already washing Misa's body.
「Fina, come over here. I'll wash yours.」
「I'm okay, I can wash myself.」
「Let me do it for you anyway.」
I got Fina to sit down in front of me and washed her back and hair then proceeded to wash myself as well. The girls tried to help, but I politely refused their help and told them to get in the bathtub ahead of me.
Noa complained, but I ignored her.
After we all spent some quality time soaking in the tub, we got out together and used my hair dryer to dry our hair.
I didn't want to have them catching a cold, after all.
We headed to the bedroom, where the girls resumed their game of Reversi, and I just watched them from the side, taking a long earned rest.
After a while, Eleanorsan entered the room.
「Mother?」
「Wow, you're all nice and clean now. Maybe I'll borrow the bath as well.」
Eleanorsan patted her daughter's head before speaking to me.
「Yunchan, I want to thank you.」
「…?」
「 Cliff and Gran-san told me what happened. Things would have turned out badly if you hadn't brought Zelef-san here.」
「True, I did bring him here, but Zelef-san was the one who did his best to make the party succeed.」
「I know, they told me how he got mad at Gerardo for criticizing his food. I wish I could have been here to witness that.」
She said in a disappointed tone.
Speaking of which, I would have loved to see that stupid noble brat's disappointment as he left the party as well.
「Oh right, about Zelef, I'll be taking him back to the capital with me, so you don't have to worry about taking him back yourself.」
「You will?」
「Yes, but in exchange, please take care of Cliff and Noa, okay?」
I was glad that I didn't have to take a detour to the capital before going home. It would have been a pain.
「Great, but did you come here by yourself, Eleanorsan?」
「I have a few subordinates accompanying me, but they are staying at an inn until we leave.」
That made sense. As amazing as Eleanorsan was, there was no way she would come all the way here by herself.
「Honestly, I would have come here by myself, but His Majesty was being nosy and kept telling me to bring others with me, so I had no choice.」
She was a noble, after all. Nobles had to have escorts with traveling.
「Mother, will you stay with us?」
「I can stay for a bit, but I still have my job to take care of.」
「Your job?」
「That's right, it's an order from our mean king. I would love to ditch this job and stay with you, though.」
Eleanorsan apologized.
Oh right, she had mentioned that she had come here for work, even though it was just 10 percent.
「Will you be able to finish it quickly?」
「Hmm, I think it will take the most of the day, but I should have time to spend with you in the evening. Yunchan, please take care of Noa during the afternoon, okay.」
「By the way, what is this job of yours? If you can't tell me, I won't pry any further, of course.」
I didn't want to get involved in anything messy, after all.
Still, if the girls were to somehow got involved instead, maybe it wouldn't be bad to hear her out.
「It's just an inspection of this town. His Majesty planned to send a civil officer over, but I snatched the chance to, I mean, I asked to go instead.」
She just said she had 'snatched' it, didn't she?
「I'm surprised His Majesty allowed that.」
「I had to beg him, more or less. I told him that I wanted to see my daughter and my husband. Let me see my daughter, my daughter, oh and my husband. I just kept chanting that to His Majesty until he agreed.」
Your Majesty, she must have been really annoying, huh.
「So, what exactly are you inspecting?」
「Not much. I will just go around town and collect information. I will hear what Gran-san and Cliff have to say before I decide on where to go, of course. Oh, and I also plan to attend Misana's party since I'm here.」
That was a lot of freedom for an inspection…
「I guess I won't start a full-scale inspection until after the party. I'll have to look around town, and make sure to visit the Adventurer's Guild and the Commerce Guild. I also need to see the Salbert family.」
Then, Eleanorsan noticed the Reversi board and joined in until Meshun-san called us for dinner.
Author's Note:
With Eleanorsan's arrival, the net around the Salbert family is slowly closing in. w
Chapter 190 – Bear-san Brings Out the Birthday Cake
When the party began, Zelef-san's cooking was brought out.
Wow, so this was the food made by the royal head chef. I had eaten some of his regular dishes before, but I had never had the chance to try his party food.
All sorts of delicious-looking foods were lined up on the table.
The food was arranged beautifully. It was colorful and pleasing to both the eyes and nose. It was definitely not just a regular lunch set.
Once all the food was set down, we were told to help ourselves, so everybody engrossed themselves with eating.
I didn't know what the proper etiquette was, but I assumed I could just eat normally.
When I looked at Fina beside me, I saw that she also looked troubled and was looking at me. She shouldn't look at me, I had no idea how to properly eat at a noble's party, either.
All we could do was watch how other people ate and mimic them.
「Should we just eat like Noa?」
I offered an option.
We were both sitting diagonally across from Noa, who was enjoying her food using a fork and a spoon.
Looking at her eat, it became obvious to me that nobody should complain as long as we didn't eat like total slobs. Also, they would most likely tell us what we were doing wrong, and we could just fix it then.
Good manners or not, I wanted to taste Zelef-san's cooking now that I finally had the chance to, so I should eat carefully anyway.
To start with, I drank some of the delicious-looking soup.
It was different from the soup made by Anzu, but it was just as delicious.
I should ask Zelef-san to teach me how to make party food sometime. Maybe I should also ask Anzu to show me how to make some of her dishes as well. Then I could eat it whenever I wanted.
As time passed, my arms, legs, and neck got more and more chilly, so I couldn't sit still. The Bear Suit really was the best, since it adjusted my body temperature. All I had to do was ignore its appearance. I really missed its fluffiness.
Also, I had to be careful to not dirty this dress, since I was just borrowing it. I had to be extra careful as food would most likely leave a permanent mark.
I had no idea how much a dress like this cost, but I was pretty sure it was expensive. Well, it wasn't like I couldn't pay for it.
Noa most likely wouldn't tell me to pay even if I got the dress dirty, so I probably didn't have to worry about that anyway.
Still, I noticed Fina was also afraid of dirtying her dress, as she was only taking small bites of her food and was barely able to eat anything.
「So, Misa, you've finally turned 10 years old today…」
Misa's mother said, turning to her daughter.
「Yes, I'm now the same age as Big Sister Noa.」
「Yes, but in a couple of months, I will turn 11, so I'm still your older sister.」
Noa declared that she was still the older sister, even though they were of the same age now.
True, being born first made her the older one, so it didn't matter if they were the same age now.
「If only I was born a year earlier. Then I would have been your older sister instead.」
Misa said, a bit dejectedly.
That reminded me, Fina was also 10 years old. When was her birthday?
Thinking about the environment Fina grew up in, she probably never got to celebrate her birthday. Maybe I should discuss throwing a surprise party for her with Terumi-san.
When I first came into this world, Fina had been the one who had helped me the most.
Yeah, that seemed like a good idea, I really should keep it in mind.
Zelef-san and Botts-san were also attending the party. The maids who had brought out the food sat down nearby and joined in on the feast, while Botts-san held a critique session with Zelef-san.
They were discussing things like the seasoning, whether the taste was strong or light, if other ingredients could be substituted into this dish, and so on.
Botts-san's hands had healed enough that he could now somewhat use a spoon and fork again.
However, everytime he raised one to his mouth, he lightly flinched in pain. Even so, he seemed to be having fun discussing the food with Zelef-san.
It didn't seem like he could hold and use a kitchen knife yet, though. Cooking demanded a lot of precise movements, after all.
Noa was having fun talking with Eleanorsan, who she hadn't seen in a while, and Cliff, who had been busy lately as well.
I heard Noa ask about Shia, who was at the capital, and the conversation quickly turned from what Shia had been doing lately, to what I had been like when I acted as her guard. Why had the conversation turned to me?
Normally, wouldn't they talk about themselves, since they hadn't met for a long time?
After some more time passed, Noa handed Misa her present. As I began to wonder what it was, Misa unveiled a ribbon.
That was a cute present for a 10-year-old. I was glad her present was appropriate for her age. The way I looked at the two noble girls would have probably changed if she had received something expensive, like gemstones or dresses.
I had thought that it was likely to happen since they were nobles, but seeing Noa's present made me realize my worry had been for nothing.
As I started planning the timing to give Noa my present, I noticed Fina looking at me, like she wanted to ask me if something was wrong.
Our presents to her were the cake and two plushies.
We were now at the midpoint of the party, with most of the food already gone.
Maybe it was time to bring out the cake soon?
「Misa, can I have a minute?」
「Yes, what is it?」
「Fina and I have a present for you, too.」
「A present?」
「It's a dessert, and we would be happy if you ate it.」
From the Bear Box, I took out the two-layer cake Fina and I had made, and placed it right in front of Misa.
Misa seemed very curious as she had never seen cake before.
The cake was beautifully lined with strawberries, and Fina had even written 『Happy Birthday』 with strawberry cream in the middle.
「What a beautiful dessert.」
Misa's mother commented on the cake.
「Yes, it almost seems like a waste to eat this. Wait, how do we even eat it?」
It's a large two-layered cake, meaning it would be hard for one person to eat the entire thing, so I told Misa to split it up and share it with everyone.
「We are cutting it?!」
「You can't eat it unless you cut it and split it up.」
「Uuu, but that will ruin the words you wrote on top.」
Fina got embarrassed when Misa said that.
「We will be happy as long as you don't forget the writing and taste the cake.」
「Okay, I'll remember it!」
Misa nodded and gave the words written on the cake a long stare, then gave us permission to cut it.
As I put the knife into the cake, however, Misa quietly cried out 「Ahh…」in a sad voice.
We had to cut the cake, so I really hoped this wasn't too hard on her.
「Yunsan, Fina, did the two of you make it yourself?」
Noa asked us while I was still in the middle of cutting the cake.
「Fina didn't know what to get you for your birthday, so I suggested we should make a cake together. Cakes are tasty, so we thought you would be happy to receive one.」
「Uuu, that's not fair. I wanted to make a cake with you as well.」
Noa pouted.
「Okay, do you want to make it with us next time?」
「Really? It's a promise, okay!?」
「I… I want to join in as well.」
「Okay, how about we all make a cake together, like when we made the pudding?」
「Would that really be okay?」
「Yes, of course. In exchange, I will have the two of you keep the recipe a secret.」
「Okay!」
Just as we made that promise, I finished cutting the two-layered cake into eight slices, perfectly splitting the writing as well.
The slices went to Misa, Misa's parents, Gran-san, Eleanorsan, Cliff, Noa, and Fina.
I didn't want any, so I didn't cut a slice for myself. Fina looked at me like she wanted to ask if I was really okay with that, so…
「I have the cake Elensan and the children working at the shop made for me, so you don't have to worry about me.」
I took Elensan's cake out of the Bear Box and passed it around to the others.
It wasn't a two-layered cake like Misa's, but they both followed the same recipe, so the taste should be more or less the same.
Once the cake was successfully passed along to everyone, we all started to eat it together.
「It's delicious.」
「Yes, it really is.」
「I've eaten one before, but this one is better.」
「I really wish you two would have let me join when you made it.」
Gran-san and Misa, who had never eaten cake before, complimented it first, followed by Noa and Cliff, who had already eaten it once.
「Yuna, if you can make such delicious food, why don't you become a chef instead of being an adventurer?」
Gran-san asked, probably because he didn't know much about me.
「Old Man Gran, she already owns two shops of her own, and does other types of businesses as well.」
「Really?」
「Her shops are so popular that even my own daughter is a regular.」
「Of course, the food at Yunsan's shop is really good.」
「Big Sister Noire, that's not fair!」
I didn't know about that. Either way, excitement was brewing over me even though it was Misa's birthday party.
Noa proudly boasted about how delicious the food at my shop was while Misa enviously listened to her stories.
She kept saying, 「That's not fair.」, but continued listening anyway.
I looked over to Zelef-san and saw Botts-san and Meshun-san were in shock after tasting the cake.
「This is delicious. I already thought about this after tasting her pudding, but just who is this young lady? 」
「She is an adventurer, but also a chef I respect very much.」
Zelef-san answered Botts-san's question.
I wished he would stop telling people how much he respected me…
If the fact that the royal head chef respected me spread, it would surely be troublesome for me.
Also, I wasn't a chef.
「I just don't understand how something like this can be made…」
Botts-san said as he scooped up some cream with his spoon and ate it.
「I learned how to make it from Yundono, but I can't teach you.」
I felt like Zelef-san was giving off a sense of superiority there.
Botts-san looked a bit upset by Zelef-san's attitude and turned to me instead, but I ignored him.
I couldn't teach him how to make it, after all.
I had only started selling it recently, and I was planning to serve it at the shop in the capital that was opening soon. If the method of making whipped cream spread in this town before I started selling it at the capital, that could be a problem for the sales there.
I turned back to Misa, who had just finished listening to Noa boast about me. I also noticed her plate was already empty.
She looked like she still wanted more, but there was other food remaining, and a slice from a two-layered cake was double the size of a normal one, so she would get a stomachache if she ate more.
Yeah, it would be problematic if people got stomach aches, so I decided against taking out more cake.
If anybody wanted to eat more, I could always bring some out tomorrow. Zelef-san had made so much food for us, and it shouldn't be wasted.
「It was really good. Thank you, Big Sis Yuna, Finchan.」
「We put a lot of effort into it, so hearing you say that makes me happy.」
Fina also looked quite happy when she heard Misa's compliment.
Now, we just had to give her the bear plushies.
Author Note:
I'm sorry for cutting off a chapter in the middle of the party.
I wanted to write until she gave the plushie, but I couldn't do it, so the chapter is a bit shorter this time.