Bear-san And The Two Children Take A Stroll, Part 2
Atora-san took us on a seafood tour.
At the market, a lot of seafood was lined up.
ãUwaa, itâs moving weirdly.ã
ãItâs really gross.ã
Fina and Shuri were noisily looking at an octopus.
ãItâs delicious, you know.ã
ãIs that true?ã
Octopuses were delicious grilled, boiled and as sashimi.
ãSis Yuna, what is this?ã
ãItâs a crab. Itâs delicious when boiled.ã
Broth made with crab was delicious. Oh, and some shrimps might be good as well.
ãAll these things can be eaten?ã
ãYes, you can eat them. They were in the dish Deiga-san made yesterday, you know?ã
ãIs that true!?ã
Fina and Shuri looked at the crabs.
They slowly reached out...
ãThey are dangerous, so donât touch them, okay?ã
I warned them as they tried to touch the crabs. They could get hurt if they were pinched by their claws, after all.
They quickly withdrew their hands when I warned them.
ãFina, Shuri, come here. Thereâs a smaller version of the Kraken Yuna had defeated.ã
When Atora-san called them, they went to see the squid.
ãThis is the thing Big Sis Yuna killed?ãn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ãThat one was was a lot larger though.ã
ãA lot larger than this one!?ã
ãYes, a lot larger.ã
ãThatâs amazing!ã
ãAmazing!ã
The two of them were praising me while looking at the squid, but I wasnât happy for some reason.
After our brief seafood tour, we headed towards the stands.
When we got closer, a delicious smell drifted our way.
ãIt seems delicious.ã
ãI want to eat it.ã
They were looking at the stand that was grilling squid.
ãFufu, no problem. Itâs my treat. You two can eat whatever you want with this.ã
Atora-san offered them money, but they didnât take it.
ãWhy arenât you taking it?ã
ãWell...ã
The two of them looked at me.
They were surely hesitating to take money from someone they had just met.
I took some money out of the Bear Box and gave it to them.
ãThis is a reward for helping me gather bamboo shoots.ã
ãBut you brought us here...ã
ãYou took the trouble of coming here. So, go and eat delicious things.ã
Fina and Shuri looked at each other and nodded. Did they come to an agreement? They took the money from my Bear Hands.
ãTh, thank you very much.ã
ãThank you.ã
They thanked me. However, there was one sad person looking at the two.
ãCould you take my money as well?ã
The sad Atora-san, who was left aside, asked them.
Fina and Shuri looked at me again, so I nodded.
They thanked Atora-san and took her money. They then happily held hands and ran towards the stands.
ãThey are good children.ã
ãYeah.ã
They werenât rebellious like I was.
Atora-san and I sat on a nearby bench.
ãYuna, have you heard what happened in the city?ã
ãI heard a little from Anzu and Deiga-san.ã
ãAbout the criminals?ã
I shook my head.
ãWell, they wouldnât talk about it when there were little children like those two around. The previous Commerce Guild master and all the people deemed guilty of conducting serious crimes have been executed.ã
ãI see.ã
ãIt was a public execution, but not many people came to see it. The only ones who came were families who had lost someone dear to them and the elders. I believe that, with this, those families will be able to end this chapter and start a new one.ã
So, thatâs why they wanted to go to Crimonia, huh?
ãSo, has the mayor been decided yet? I think Cliff wanted you to do it, but...ã
ãThereâs no way I would accept, right? Iâm lazy most of the time, so I wouldnât accept something that troublesome.ã
ãWhat happened then?ã
ãThe role was forced onto Grandpa Kuroâs son. Nobody opposed the idea since he is from this city.ã
ãSo, it was forced onto someone, huh. Iâm sure there are a lot of people who want to be mayor though.ã
ãThey all saw the previous mayor, after all. Every day, he was told to do something about the Kraken. When he tried to get food from the nearby city, bandits appeared, and he couldnât procure food anymore. On top of that, the residents never stopped pressuring him. They saw him at that time, so nobody wants to do it anymore. Thatâs why Grandpa Kuro pushed it onto his son.ã
I felt sorry for him.
I wished him luck even though I didnât know him.
ãHas the previous mayor returned?ã
ãWith how he fled, thereâs no way he would return, right? The citizens wouldnât forgive him even if he returned.ã
ãIn case he returns, what will happen to the mayorâs position?ã
ãNothing. This city is now under Cliff-samaâs jurisdiction, so the people who fled have nothing to say. Even if something does happen, Iâm sure Cliff-sama will deal with it.ã
Atora-san seemed to trust Cliff, huh.
Well, this wasnât something I needed to concern myself with; I could just leave it to Cliff if the previous mayor returned.
ãIt would also be dangerous for him to return.ã
ãDangerous?ã
ãThere are a lot of people who resent him.ã
Well, people who had been abandoned would hold grudges, no matter what world they were from.
ãOn another note, where are you staying, Yuna? At Deiga-sanâs place or at the Bear?ã
ãAt the Bear, you say... Deiga-sanâs inn is full, so Iâm staying at my own Bear-shaped house outside the city.ã
ãI knew it. We really have to make more inns quicky. More people will come once the tunnel is completed, and what we have now wonât be enough.ã
ãYou havenât started building them yet?ã
The wood was prepared, but no buildings have been built yet.
ãI think we will start building them soon, but we donât have enough people. Also, we have to kill the monsters in the area or the construction canât begin safely, so we postponed it.ã
ãI saw Blitz, but is the monster subjugation going well?ã
ãThanks to the adventurers, the monsters arenât seen around here anymore. Iâm asking the adventurers to go farther out now. When thatâs done with, a full scale construction will start.ã
I would appreciate if they were done before the summer heat came.
Wait, did they even have summer here? I decided to ask that later.
While I was still talking with Atora-san, Fina and Shuri came back looking happy.
ãBig Sis Yuna, Atora-san. We are back.ã
ãWe are back.ã
They seemed satisfied. Did they eat something delicious?
ãI will go back to the guild; what will you be doing?ã
ãWe will go to the Commerce Guild to check on how itâs going with the country of Harmony and Peace.ã
ãThe country of Harmony and Peace, huh? They used to come once a month, but stopped when the Kraken appeared. I hope their boat didnât sink.ã
ãWell, I will wait patiently.ã
If nothing else, I might be able to get some information at the capital.
We parted ways with Atora-san and headed to the Commerce Guild.
The employees seemed busy when we arrived. Not a single employee seemed free.
ãYu, Yuna-san!ã
One of the female employees noticed me.
Everyone turned my way when they heard her.
ãBig Sis Yuna!?ã
Fina and Shuri were shocked by the reaction of the employees.
To calm them, I put my hands on their heads.
ãIs the guild master here?ã
ãYes. Please wait a moment.ã
The employee went to the room in the back to inform the guild master that I was here.
ãBear Missy.ã
Jorumo-san, who seemed worn-out, came out.
ãItâs been a while.ã
ãYeah. You seem well.ã
ãCanât say the same for you, Jorumo-san.ã
ãI regret accepting the role of the guild master. Iâm just too busy. I canât even take a break. The mountains of documents arenât decreasing at all. Thereâs too much to do. Also, the mentor who came from Crimonia keeps persecuting me.ã
ãPlease donât speak badly of other people, Jorumo-san. There wouldnât be any problems if you just learned how to do your job. I also want to return to Crimonia, so please learn faster.ã
An intelligent looking woman in mid 20s appeared behind Jorumo-san.
If she had glasses, I was sure they would suit her.
ãIâm teaching you because Mylene-san requested me to. I left my husband and my children in Crimonia, so get it together!ã
ãI understand. I will do my best, so...ã
ãProve that with your actions please.ã
Was this the person Mylene-san spoke of when she said that she would send someone to help Jorumo-san?
ãYuna-san, nice to meet you. I have been sent here from Crimonia. My name is Annabelle.ã
ãAnnabelle-san, you know about me, huh.ã
ãI saw you in Crimonia a few times. Also, everyone at the Crimoniaâs Commerce Guild knows about you. So, why did you come here, Yuna-san? Did you come to complain about Jorumo-san?ã
ãWhy!? I didnât do anything, right?ã
ãYou should do your job.ã
I didnât know if I should respond to their exchange, so I decided to ignore it.
ãI came here to learn about what happened to the country of Harmony and Peace.ã
ãAbout that, huh? A boat that went out onto the high seas came in contact with a ship from the country of Harmony and Peace. The fisherman told them about the what happened to the city, so I think that trade will resume soon.ã
ãReally!?ã
That was good news.
ãYes, but I donât know when they will start coming again.ã
Annabelle-san seemed to be an excellent person. She answered really quickly. I could understand why Mylene-san sent her. Jorumo-san might become a splendid guild master under Annabelle-sanâs guidance.
ãIs Jorumo-san doing okay?ã
ãLet me see. He is doing his best even though he tried to ditch his work a few times. Still, itâs annoying when he asks for a break right after he starts working.ã
ãThatâs because you donât give me a break, right?ã
ãIf you do your best, the residents will live happy lives. Please do your best for them without taking breaks.ã
It was a business that exploited its employees.
If I was told that I wouldnât get any breaks, I would have quit already.
A great person once said: âIf you work, you lose.â
Thinking like that, I understood the evaluation the elders gave of Jorumo-san.
He was unsteady, but he did his job. He ditched it sometimes, but he was well liked by the people. He was someone who couldnât refuse when asked to be the guild master, huh.
ãOn a different note, I would like to ask you to do something for me, Yuna-san. When will you be going back to Crimonia?ã
ãI plan on going back tomorrow or the day after.ã
ãIâm sorry for requesting this, but could you please give my report to Mylene-san?ã
ãReport?ã
ãEvery ten days, we send a report about what we need, but since this idiot, Jorumo-san, was behind with his work, we couldnât send the report the other day. Itâs a pressing matter, so it will be too late if we send it in the next report.ã
ãNo problem. I just have to give it to her, right?ã
ãThank you very much. I will bring it now, so Iâm counting on you.ã
I took the documents from Annabelle-san, and we left the Commerce Guild.
ãWill you two eat dinner?ã
ãUgh, Iâm sorry. Iâm full already.ã
ãMe too.ã
I had only looked at them from afar, but they had indeed eaten a lot at the stands.
ãKeep me company while I eat mine, okay?ã
The two agreed quietly.
I wouldnât force them to eat, of course.