I have never gone to Targui ever since I got back to Crimonia. I may be a little worried, so today I will invite Fina to go to Targui.
Early in the morning, I went to Finaâs house and invite Fina.
[So, Itâs only Oneechan today?] Shuri
When I invited Fina to go out, Shuri speaks with a lonely expression. Certainly, I often take Fina with me and have Shuri stay at home. In Shuriâs eyes, it may seem that Fina and I are always going out together.
[I want to go with you too.] Shuri
Donât look at me with such sad eyes. If weâre going out on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, Iâll invite you to come along. This time Iâm thinking of going to the island of Targui using the bear gate. If I bring Shuri with us, she will learn about the bear gate.
Hmmm, what should I do?
[Canât I?] Shuri
Shuri looks down with a sad expression. Fina gently hugs the sad Shuri.
[Yuna-oneesan, Iâll stay with Shuri today.] Fina
[Oneechan......] Shuri
I canât really separate the sisters who are so close to each other. And Shuri did not tell anyone about the last time we went to Targui. Shuri is not a child who breaks her promise. So I made my decision.
[...Okay. Letâs go together with Shuri, but you have to promise me one thing.] Yuna
[A promise?] Shuri
[Yeah, I have a secret. And I want you to keep that secret from Tirumina-san and Gentz-san.] Yuna
To prevent her from talking about the bear gate to anyone, I need her to make a promise.
[From mom?] Shuri
[Yeah, keep it a secret to both of your mom and dad.] Yuna
[Ara, thatâs quite an interesting topic youâre discussing.] Tirumina
[............] Yuna
From behind, I heard the voice of a person whom I donât want to hear at this moment. Looking back slowly, I saw Tirumina-san.
[What secret are you keeping from me?] Tirumina
[............] Yuna
They said humans couldnât make a voice whenever they were surprised, in my case, that seems to be true.
[Mom, um... this is...] Fina
Fina tried to explain, but she canât speak clearly and kept stuttering.
[Why is Tilmina-san here? What about work?] Yuna
[Today, I left Liz in charge so I can take care of my houseâs garden. Then I noticed that Yuna-chan had come to visit. And while I was listening to your conversation, you mentioned keeping something a secret from me. When I heard it, as a mother I couldnât just ignore it, so here I am.] Tirumina
When I thought she went to work on managing the orphanageâs clucker eggs, she was actually in the backyard.
Certainly, as a mother of a little daughter, it is unavoidable to be worried when someone asked her daughter to keep a secret.
[Itâs okay to go out with Yuna-chan, but as a parent, Iâm worried about the words you spout just now. Even though itâs Yuna-chan, Iâm not letting my daughters do bad things.] Tirumina
As a mother, Tirumina-san asked me with serious eyes.
[Weâre not doing anything wrong.] Yuna
[Then why do you need to keep it a secret from me and Gentz?] Tirumina
[It meant not only to Tirumina-san and Gentz-san but everyone in general.] Yuna
[I trust Yuna-chan, but canât you really tell me what that is?] Tirumina
[............] Yuna
I was thinking of telling Tirumina-san about the bear gate, but she doesnât give me time to think about it.
[Fina, youâre not doing anything wrong, are you?] Tirumina
[Yes, I wasnât.] Fina
[Then you can tell it to me.] Tirumina
[That is......] Fina
Fina got squeezed by her mother, but sheâs keeping her promise to me. When Fina looks at me and Tirumina-san alternately, she looks down.
[Fina...] Tirumina
At this rate, a fissure will be created between the parent and her child.
[Tirumina-san, stop asking Fina. I asked Fina to keep quiet about it because itâs my own secret. So Fina is just keeping her promise with me.] Yuna
[Yuna-chanâs secret?...] Tirumina
[Itâll be a bit of a problem if people knew about it.] Yuna
Tirumina-san glances at me and Fina.
[...Haah, I get it. Fina, stop looking like that, mother was wrong. Fina just tried to keep Yuna-sanâs secret.] Tirumina
[Mom......] Fina
Tirumina-san smiled gently and placed her hand on Finaâs head.
[Yuna-chan, itâs not something really bad or dangerous, right?] Tirumina
[I swear it to the bear god.] Yuna
But Iâm a bit reluctant to make Fina keep a secret from Tirumina-san anymore. So, I made up my mind.
[Tirumina-san, will you come to my house?] Yuna
[Yuna-oneesan!?] Fina
Fina was surprised by my sudden announcement. I canât keep quiet about it anymore. Iâm also afraid to make Fina keep lying. Besides, itâll become difficult for me to invite Fina otherwise.
[Is it okay? I do want to know about Yuna-chanâs secret, but you canât tell it to others, right?] Tirumina
[Thinking about the future, itâs better to let Tirumina-san know about it. Also, Iâm reluctant to keep asking Fina to keep it a secret and I was planning to tell Shuri anyway, but please keep it a secret to others. Iâm begging you.] Yuna
[If my lifesaver, Yuna-chan, asks me, then Iâll keep quiet about it. But is that really okay?] Tirumina
[Itâs okay, just keep it a secret.] Yuna
[I understand. I swear to the bear god not to tell anyone.] Tirumina
Tirumina-san jokingly says and her smile was sparkly.
I went back to Bear House with Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri.
[But do we need to go to Yuna-chanâs house?] Tirumina
[Itâll be faster if I just show it and I donât think youâll believe it even if tell you anyway.] Yuna
[Now Iâm getting nervous about that thing. You have too many secrets about you, Yuna-chan. So Iâm worried about what youâre going to tell me.] Tirumina
Do I have that many secrets?
Family, place of origin, bear costume, strength, money, cooking recipes, healing magic, summoned bears, bear phones, well now that I think about it I am full of secrets. Until now, I have not been asked thoroughly, but it may have been that Tirumina-san was just anxious.
When I arrive at the bear house with Tirumina-san, Fina, and Shuri, we entered the room where the bear gate was located.
[Itâs a big door, but the door has a shape of a bear. So whatâs with this room?] Tiruminan/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[Well then, Tirumina-san. Where do you think this door is connected if I open it?] Yuna
[Where? The next room, isnât it?] Tirumina
Tirumina-san gives an answer using common-sense. No one would think that the end of this door leads to Mereera or the royal capital.
[This door is a magical tool that connects to the places where the same door is located, and I can use this door to go far away places.] Yuna
In my explanation, Tirumina-san looks at Fina once and then looks back at me with a serious expression.
[...Sheâs not kidding.] Fina
I nodded.
[I thought Yuna-chan was a really mysterious girl, but sheâs even more mysterious than I imagined. So where is this door connected?] Tirumina
[I installed one in every place Iâve been to. Like the royal capital or Mereera. Would you like to go somewhere?] Yuna
[Then, Mereera please.] Tirumina
I opened the door while imagining the town of Mereera. Beyond the door was the room next to my room inside the Bear Building in Mereera. We moved to the next room and opened the window. The view of the blue sea spreads beyond the window.
Itâs the sea where we played during the employee trip.
[Itâs the sea~!] Shuri
Shuri shouted while looking at the sea from the window.
[I never thought that you were lying, and now that I actually experienced it, I couldnât find the words to say. Moreover, Fina knew about this.] Tirumina
[Yeah, Iâm sorry.] Fina
[Donât be mad, because Iâm the one who asked her to keep quiet about this.] Yuna
[Iâm not mad. Iâm actually glad she kept her promise with Yuna-chan. Iâll scold her if she told your secrets to the others.] Tirumina
Tirumina-san strokes Finaâs head.
[Mom......] Fina
Fina smiles brightly at Tirumina-san. Even families have their own secrets. But I donât want the relationship between Fina and Tirumina-san to worsen because of me.
[But I feel like she chose Yuna-chan over her mother, so Iâm a little sad. I wonder if this is the beginning of my daughterâs growth and separation from her parents.] Tirumina
[U~u ~ Mom.] Fina
Fina got embarrassed.
[But Iâm pretty convinced by this because sometimes she answered vaguely when I asked Fina,] Tirumina
[Because I canât say we went to the royal capital.] Fina
It seems that Fina had a lot of trouble. But with this, Fina and Tirumina-san no longer have any disputes. From now on, Fina can talk to Tirumina-san a lot of things without telling a lie.
Then, I took everyone to the royal capital. And the first one to let her voice out was Tirumina-san.
[The house in the royal capital is also a bear, huh.] Tirumina
Tirumina-san looks at the bear house in the royal capital. Bear houses are built in Crimonia, Mereera, the royal capital, the elf village, Targui, and many other places. Thatâs because I went to many places.
[Mom, you can see the castle.] Fina
In the direction where Fina was pointing, we can see the castle where the king lives.
[I canât take any more of this. I canât tell anyone about this. Fina and Shuri, you canât tell this to anyone. Keep your promise with Yuna-chan.] Tirumina
[Even Dad?] Shuri
Shuri asks. Thatâs right. There was Gentz-san. I didnât forget him. Although I sometimes forget about his existence.
[I want you to keep it a secret.] Yuna
[Yeah. Letâs keep this a secret between girls.] Tirumina
[Okay.] Fina
[Un, girls!] Shuri
It helps, but I donât know. Is it because I feel pity for Gentz-san?
Then we went back to Crimonia after visiting the royal capital.
And on their way home.
[As expected, looking like a bear really stands out.] Tirumina
She told me with a calm voice.
Authorâs Note:
In episode 382, Tirumina-san and Shuri learned about the Bear Gate.
Yuna can now use Bear Gate with Fina and Shuri anytime.
But only Gentz-san was left in the dark...