There were many people opposed to placing the Iron Golem at the entrance as Gran-san was thinking about doing.
ãFather, please donât put it at the entrance. People who see it will be scared.ã
ãIsnât that fine?ã
ãNo, it is not. If youâll insist on putting it at the entrance, I will tell Yuna-san to take it home with her.ã
As more and more people objected, Gran-san had to reluctantly give up on putting it at the entrance.
After talking it out for a bit longer, they decided to place the Iron Golem in the middle of the hall on the second floor.
It was not a place guests visited often, but if Gran-san ever wanted to show it off, he just needed to bring them there.
Everybody agreed that this was the best solution, and for some reason, I ended up being the one who had to set it up there.
ãWe canât move such a heavy object that easily.ã
They told me. Since I didnât have any other choice, I put all the golems back into the Bear Box and went upstairs to the hall, where I set the tough-looking one up at a place they pointed out to me.
Yeah, it did look good up here in the hall.
It was made of good quality iron, so unlike the Earth Golem, it looked elegant, and not too brittle.
It made me want to line up a Silver Golem and Gold Golem next to it.
There was also the Fake Mithril Golem I had, so maybe I could put it next to them as well.
Oh, but if we were only decorating, maybe just coating the surface of iron golems would be enough, too.
Now that the party was over, and the golem had securely been set up, I returned to my room, where I quickly took off the dress and put my Bear Suit back on.
I definitely couldnât stay calm without my Bear Suit on. Knowing that I now thought this way made me a bit concerned, especially since I used to be so embarrassed to walk around in it.
Perhaps the Bear Suit was cursed after all, seeing how I missed wearing it so much.
Well, usually cursed equipment couldnât be removed. Instead, the Bear Suit spoiled me and made me completely dependent on it.
Now that I had changed back into the Bear Suit, I went to find Noa to ask her what I should do with the dress.
I wanted to wash it first before returning it, but I didnât know how to wash dresses. I didnât think they had laundromats in this world, but I honestly wouldnât know of one even if they did since I never had to wash my Bear Suit.
When I told Noa I was returning the dress to her, she replied in an unexpected way.
ãYuna-san, you can keep the dress.ã
There was no way I could accept an expensive dress just like that.
ãI canât take it.ã
ãNo, itâs a trade. I will trade you that dress for the Bear-san plushies. I want the full set, okay?ã
Oh, she intended for it to be a trade.
Since she already did her side of the trade, that meant I had no other choice but to really bring her a set of the Bear plushies.
I didnât mind giving them to her, but how many chances would I get to wear this dress again?
ãI will let Fina keep her dress as well, so I hope I can get my hands on those plushies soon.ã
Fina tried her best to refuse, but Noa wouldnât budge at all.
ãEven if I take the dress, I wonât have any opportunities to wear it again.ã
ãFina, you went to Misaâs party, but you arenât planning on coming to mine?ã
ãWell, thatâs...ã
ãYou will come, right? Then, please wear the dress to my party. If it wonât fit you anymore, just let me know, and I will get it fixed.ã
Fina lost all chances of getting out of it, so she accepted the dress reluctantly.
Did that mean I had to attend Noaâs party as well?
The next day, Cliff and Eleanora-san came to our room early in the morning.
To put it simply, they wanted to talk about the plans going forward.
Cliff planned on staying for three more days and told us to do what we want till then.
Eleanora-san also planned to wrap up her task quickly, so she could accompany us.
ãIf Noa is leaving in three days, then I guess I should also finish things up by then.ã
Eleanora-san, could you please do your job properly....
In the end, it was decided that we would all be leaving in three days time.
ãWell then, Iâm heading out now.ã
ãStay safe.ã
The girls saw me as I headed out alone.
Today, I would be doing my own thing without the girls tagging along.
Misa had promised to show Fina and Noa her garden flower bed. She had invited me to come and see it too, but I had declined so that I could go and check out the specialities of this town.
At the mansion entrance, I ran into Zelef-san and Botts-san.
ãYuna-dono, are you heading out?ã
ãYes, I am. And you two?ã
ãWe are going out as well. Botts is going to show me around town.ã
ãAre you going out alone today, Young Bear Lady?ã
ãMisa is showing the other two girls her garden flower bed, so I decided to go out and look around town on my own.ã
ãWhy donât we walk together then, Yuna-dono?ã
ãOi, Zelef. You plan on walking around with a young girl dressed like a bear?!ã
I was aware that I was a bear, but... He didnât have to point it out.
It had been a while since somebody reacted to me like that.
ãStill, why are you always dressed like this? Your outfit yesterday made you look more normal even though I canât really say the same for your personality.ã
ãI think you should be able to tell seeing what I could do yesterday. My Bear Suit comes with many useful gadgets, like the Bear Gloves, which are an item bag and a home to my Bears.ã
I gave him a vague explanation.
ãTrue, you did bring out a massive Iron Golem yesterday. You were also able to store all of the ingredients needed for the party by yourself.ã
ãBotts, didnât you want to do something to thank Yuna-dono? Why donât you show her around as well?ã
Do something to thank me? Was there something I did that Botts-san was supposed to be thankful for?
ãFine, I get it. Where does the Young Bear Lady want to go?ã
ãOh, I want to taste the townâs specialties, and if thereâs time, I also want to check out your Adventurerâs Guild.ã
ãNow that you mention it, are you really an adventurer? Zelef told me you are, but I still find it hard to believe. You being a chef makes more sense to me....ã
Well, with my Bear Suit, I hardly looked like an adventurer.
ãEh, whatever. It doesnât really matter. After checking out the specialties, I will also take you to the Adventurerâs Guild.ã
There was no reason for him to refuse, especially since the Adventurerâs Guild was close to the market area. If they didnât feel like accompanying me there, we could just split up at the marketplace.
Zelef-san, Botts-san, and I. This very unusual group headed out towards the town center.
ãYoung Bear Lady, I want to thank you for bringing Zelef here in our time of need. Thanks to you, the Salbert family had no other choice but to flee.ã
Botts-san thanked me again. So, that was what Zelef-san was talking about when he mentioned that Botts-san wanted to thank me...
I hadnât been there to see what happened at the party in person, but based on what everybody had told me, the Salbert family had been quite unbelievable.
ãBy the way, Yuna-dono, where did you learn to cook? Zelef told me that you know how to make many delicious dishes that can compare to pudding and whipped cream.ã
ãBotts, you promised me not to ask Yuna-dono about that.ã
ãI did, but as a chef, Iâm still very curious about it.ã
ãI understand how you feel, but a promise is a promise.ã
ãZelef, she showed you some of those recipes, didnât she?ã
ãYes, Yuna-dono taught me many delicious recipes.ã
For some reason, Zelef-san almost sounded like he was boasting.
If Botts-san had asked me why I had taught him, I would tell him it was all for Princess Floraâs sake. I wanted her to be able to eat whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, so I had taught Zelef-san how to make some of the things she liked.
However, Botts-san didnât seem to know about it and was quite upset with this treatment.
As we walked towards the town center, he continued to ask me about the pudding and cake I had made.
ãYouâre opening a shop in the capital?ã
ãYes. Not many people there know about Yuna-donoâs cooking, so we will be opening a shop that will serve her recipes at the capital. The shop will be supervised by me since everybody working there will be taught her precious recipes. Now that I think about it, Botts, why donât you come work at the shop as well?ã
ãIâm sorry, but I still owe a lot to Gran-sama. I canât leave until I have repaid his favor.ã
Despite what he looked like, Botts-san was actually quite a level-headed fellow.
ãDo you want me to teach you?ã
ãYou would?!ã
ãI donât really mind, but you must promise me something.ã
ãPromise what?ã
ãYou cannot reveal the recipes to anybody. I wouldnât mind if you wanted to open up a shop yourself, but please wait a while before doing that.ã
ãWait a while? How long would that be...?ã
ãMaybe until everything calms down with the capitalâs shop opening? I would have to discuss it with Zelef-san first.ã
ãThat would make Botts your second branch, huh?ã
ãI donât have the money to open up a shop anyway, so you donât have to worry about me opening one for my own gain. I promise I will keep the recipes a secret, too. I will even sign a contract if I have to.ã
ãI donât need you to sign a contract, but there is one very important thing I want you to make sure to keep in mind.ã
ãThereâs something even more important than keeping the recipes a secret?ã
Donât spread the recipes, and donât make your own store. There was something even more important than those two things.
ãAh, I know what it is. It is indeed very important, considering that you are cooking for Gran-donoâs family.ã
Zelef-san realized what the most important thing was, it seemed.
ãZelef, you know what it is?ã
ãYes. I also had to make a similar promise when she taught me.ã
ãThereâs something that important...ã
ãYeah, there is. I want you to promise me this: Even if Misa wants to eat it, do not make it for her every day. Especially, in the case of things like cake, which has a lot of sugar. She can only have one per week, two at most.ã
That was one promise he must not break.
We couldnât let a cute girl like her get fat. Not to mention that eating too many sweets would be bad for her health.
ãThatâs such a trivial matter...ã
ãNo, itâs not. Itâs a very important thing for girls. If Misa canât get married because sheâs fat, it will be your fault, Botts-san.ã
ãUgh, I guess it is quite important when you put it that way...ã
ãBotts-san, I donât know how long you plan on working for Gran-san, but please keep an eye on everybodyâs eating habits. Even if Misa wants to eat something every day, make sure she eats other foods as well.ã
ãI also promised not to cook the same thing for Princess Flora all the time.ã
ãI understand. I promise that even if Misana-sama asks me to make something for her, I will make sure not to cook it for her every day.ã
Zelef-san then told me he could teach Botts-san the recipes in my stead as he would be staying here for a while longer.
Just as we were finished with our conversation, we reached an area that looked like a marketplace and proceeded to take a look around.
ãWe were getting stared at while coming here, but even more people are staring at us now that weâre in a crowded area.ã
True, there were many shoppers and shop owners staring at us.
I even heard a few of them whisper âBearâ.
Well, as usual, I just ignored it as long as nobody approached me or tried to touch my suit, of course.
Anyway, since Botts-san would now get to learn the recipes, he didnât try to complain about it anymore. Instead, he guided us to many different shops like he didnât have a choice.
The shops here more or less just sold the same thing that could be found in Crimonia. Hmm, Sheelin wasnât far from Crimonia, so maybe I would have to head to a place with a different climate to get different ingredients.
From time to time, I saw things that didnât exist in my former world, so I asked the two ingredient experts about it.
ãThat fruit is sour and sweet. It can be used as a substitute for strawberries.ã
ãTrue, but it might be more suitable for adults.ã
ãWell, that one is just very sweet, so it would go very well with your cake.ã
Mhm, I could learn a lot from this.
ãMister! Give me an entire box of that fruit!ã
ãYuna-dono?ã
ãI donât know if I can get them in Crimonia, and even if I could, this saves me the trouble of having to search for them there.ã
ãI understand that, but arenât you buying a bit too much?ã
ãIâm going to give them to the children at the orphanage as souvenirs.ã
ãThe orphanage?ã
Oh, I had never told them about it before.
ãIâm sort of a part of the orphanageâs management in Crimonia, so I thought Iâd bring the children there some souvenirs.ã
ãYouâre doing something like that, too?ã
Botts-san said, surprised.
ãWell, things just ended up that way.ã
ãYoung lady, are you from some noble family?ã
ãNo, Iâm just a normal person.ã
ãNormal, you say...ã
He said, looking at me suspiciously.
Back in my old world, I had been a normal person, so I wasnât really lying.
The shop owner also wore a shocked expression as I paid for the fruit. I couldnât blame him for being surprised since he most likely had never had anyone buy this much of it at once.
It was definitely not because of my outfit.
We then continued making our way around the marketplace and bought everything we wanted.
Since Botts-san wanted to learn the cake and pudding recipes as soon as he could, I suggested they headed back first, and Zelef-san agreed.
ãWhat will you do now, Yuna-dono?ã
ãIâll head back after dropping by the Adventurerâs Guild. Botts-san, Zelef-san, thank you for your time. I learned a lot today.ãn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
ãIâm glad to hear that. Next time you come to the capital, I will take you to a few shops that sell some less-known ingredients. They sell ingredients from many different places, so Iâm sure you will find something interesting there.ã
Really? That would be great.
After making the promise with Zelef-san, we parted ways, and I headed to the Adventurerâs Guild on my own.
Based on what Botts-san had told me, it should be pretty close.
As I looked around aimlessly, something suddenly started ringing.
ãKuun, kuun, kuun.ã
It was coming from my White Bear Hand.
It took me a couple of seconds to realize that my Bear Phone was responsible for the noise then
I quickly took it out of the Bear Box to answer.
ãHello?ã
ãB-Big Sis Yuna... Misa-sama got...ã
ãFina? Fina, what happened?! Respond to me!ã
ã............ã
She didnât respond.
I immediately turned around and ran back to Gran-sanâs mansion.
Authorâs Notes:
The idiot son has made his move. w
Well, thereâs no massive hidden plan or plot, so things will end smoothly.
By the way, the Bear Phone is made using Godâs skill; thatâs why she can hear it from inside the Bear Box.