The next day, after obtaining the eggs, I went to the capital.
With this, it would be okay for now.
While I was taking my time inside the Bear House, I heard a voice calling me from outside.
When I went out, Noa stood there imposingly with puffed cheeks.
ãYuna-san, did you go somewhere while leaving me here all alone?ã
ãCan I ask something too?ã
ãWhat is it?ã
ãI donât understand, does Noa have nothing else to do? Arenât there any courtesy greetings or preparations that need to be done as a noble for the birthday party?ã
ãThere arenât. Itâs basically because mother lives here that there is no need for greetings. The only greetings needed would be ones in the hall, during the birthday party. I will be accompanied by mother and father for that; and since the leading part will be going to my big sister, Iâm just a bonus. More importantly, I came with Misa yesterday. She wanted to see the bears.ã
ãSorry, I had some business outside the capital.ã
I couldnât tell her that I went back to town through the transfer gate, so that was my response.
As an apology for yesterday, I will be Noa and Misaâs playmate today.
Well, their playmates will be the bears though.
As the days passed gradually since I came to the capital, the day of the kingâs birthday approached.
Of course, as the day of the birthday party approached, Cliff and the other nobles were moving around busily.
Noa was no longer free to come to any more outings, and the times where I would go out with just Fina started to increase.
ãAlthough I thought that there was a lot of people when we came to the capital, there are even more of them today.ã
ãThis is the first time Iâve seen so many people!ã
ãBecause of that, there are a lot of gazes.ã
ãWell, itâs because Big Sis Yunaâs suit stands out after all.ã
The gazes of the people we crossed were always focused on me.
It had been a few months since I came to this world, and I had become accustomed to these gazes being fixated on me.
Although I would be lying if I said that it didnât bother me, but human beings learn to adapt.
ãBeing bothered by it wonât do anything. Letâs enjoy the few days before the birthday party.ã
ãYes.ã
While buying, eating, and window-shopping at the street stalls, we walked around the capital.
The capital was too big, it was almost as if we wouldnât have enough time to visit everything if we slowly took our time.
I even got various unusual things too.
ãAh, what a great smell.ã
There was the scent of freshly baked bread coming from somewhere.
ãYes, it smells great.ã
ãIt seems it is coming from the bakery over there. Itâs just about time, so letâs eat?ã
From where I could see, there was the signboard of a bakery.
It was a little shop, but a delicious smell was coming from there.
Inside the shop was a crowd of people.
All of them had been lured in by the scent just like us.
Fina and I lined up for the bread.
And after waiting for around ten minutes it was our turn.
ãThis bread looks delicious.ã
A girl around my age was at the counter.
She seemed surprised by my suit, but she soon started talking with a smile afterwards.
ãThank you very much.ã
ãThen, I will take two pieces of bread please.ã
ãYes.ã
The girl gave us two pieces of bread that had just been brought out of the oven.
What a nice scent.
ãIf itâs good, I will come back!ã
ãYes, thanks for the patronage.ã
After buying the bread, we went outside to eat them.
ãThis may be the best bread I have ever had.ã
ãYes, itâs delicious.ã
It was fluffy bread.
It brought back the memories of the bread I ate back in Japan.
With this bread...making sandwiches or cheese toast...
Making all sort of things would be great, I bet.
Without forgetting, I decided to buy some before going back to Crimonia.
But...with all those customers...it would definitely be difficult to buy it...
Maybe if I came here first thing in the morning.
With that in mind, after taking into account the hour at which the bakery would open, I departed on the next day.
For now, since I didnât have rice, bread would have to be the center of my eating habit.
If it had to be like this, I wanted to eat delicious bread.
Thinking that, I arrived at the bakery.
Ara, there was a lot of people in front of the bakery...
Was I too late?
ãPlease stop!ã
From the opened door, a woman past her thirties was shouting.
Next to her was the girl that was at the counter yesterday.
They were most likely mother and daughter.
The mother protected her daughter by shielding her and resisting with all of her strength.
The people watching this scene didnât try to help them...
ãHurry and get out! This shop is not your property!ã
About three men were acting violently in the shop.
Because they were acting so violently inside the shop, bread was flying everywhere.
*Puchi*
(TL note: itâs the sound of a vein that is contracted on Yunaâs head: âYuna angry!â feels like that...)
ãBut, we had an agreement that until the birthday partyâã
ãThere are other people who want to do some business here!ã
Not finished, the man stepped on the bread that fell and was rolling on the floor.
*Puchi*
ãBut, the agreementâã
ãAgreement, agreement...Just shut up! If you want to work here, you have to repay your husbandâs debt! If you want, you can repay it with your daughterâs body...ã
The man grabbed the arm of the girl.
*Puchi*
ãLet go of my daughter!ã
The mother grabbed the man to save her child.
But the man hit her.
*Puchiã¼n*
I snapped.
I barged into the shop.
ãWhat is it, you bitch!ã
I punched.
ãWhat are you doing?ã
I kicked.
ãYou bitch, we areâã
I flung him away.
ãWho wants to die first...?ã
I asked the men that were collapsed on the floor.
ãYou think that it will end just like that?ã
The man drew the sword he had on his waist.
ãIf you are drawing, I guess you donât have any complaints about dying right?ã
ãDonât fuck with me!ã
I launched a Bear Punch into his solar plexus.
The man collapsed while holding his stomach.
ãWhoâs next?ã
I looked at the remaining two guys.
ãYou bitch, Iâll remember those clothes. Donât think that youâll be able to leave the capital safely!ã
The remaining two guys shouted while dragging the man who collapsed.
At that moment, an applause came from the audience.
ãAre you okay?ã
I approached the mother and daughter and asked.
ãYes, thank you very much.ã
ãBy the way, thatâs terrible.ã
All the fresh bread was scattered on the floor.
From them drifted a really great scent, so I think I sensed even more cruelty.
It was bad, just looking at all the bread on the floor, my anger was welling up.
I should have punched them some more.
ãBefore, I think he said something about a debt?ã
ãYes, it was a debt from when we purchased this store. But when my husband died not too long ago, they started to coerce us into repaying the debt.ã
ãBut, with such delicious bread, you could reimburse the debt with no problem, right?ã
ãYes, if we had the time, it would be possible. But there is someone who wants this land, and more precisely this place.ã
Thatâs why the men started harassing them, so that they would leave this place.
Hmmm, what to do?
I wanted their bread, so I needed the bakery to continue.
Would this problem finish if I paid the debt?
ãBut, before leaving this place we wanted to earn enough money, so we could open our next bakery.ã
ãYou will continue the bakery elsewhere?ã
ãYes, itâs the bread that my husband entrusted to me after all. I want to continue the bakery until I die.ã
What a wonderful love between this husband and wife.
I couldnât stand doing nothing.
ãOkay, I understand. Then, why donât you work at my shop?ã
ãYour shop?ã
ãYes, I was planning on opening a shop, but I am a bit troubled because I donât have enough personnel to do so.ã
It was the new shop I was planning on opening in Crimonia.
I wanted to let the children at the orphanage do it, but an adult was necessary if I wanted to entrust it to them.
Even more so when it was a talented baker who could bake delicious bread, which was needed in my shop.
ãIs it a bakery? I can only bake bread after all.ã
ãOf course, I will ask you to make some bread, but you will also have to make other things. While we are at it, the thing I want you to make is this.ã
I brought out two puddings and gave it to the them.
ãWhat is this?ã
ãThis is a dish named pudding.ã
The two of them ate the pudding.
ãItâs delicious!ã
ãI want to sell this with the bread, but what do you think?ã
I was planning on selling pizza too.
If you have bread dough, you could make pizza.
Killing two birds with one stone.
ãWho are you exactly?ã
ãI am an adventurer from Crimonia. For various reasons, I will open a shop.ã
ãHmmm, is it okay if my daughter comes too...?ã
ãOf course itâs okay.ã
ãThank you very much. I am Morin. My daughterâs name is Karin.ã
ãThen, before those men come back, letâs go.ã
ãBut...our luggage...ã
I took out 10 item bags that I previously took from the thieves.
I havenât used them at all, so I didnât really know just how much they could hold, so I took out this much in case it wasnât sufficient.
ãThis is?ã
ãThese are item bags. You can put the little things you have in it, and the big ones will go into the item box I have on me.ã
Since we didnât know when the men would come back, we immediately began moving.
I asked Morin-san to assemble all the utensils needed to make bread.
Fina and I helped Karin take the household goods.
I gathered all of the western clothes inside each closet and the books from the bookshelves and put them away.
For the small stuff, Karin-san was taking care of them and placed them inside the item bags.
ãExcuse me, Yuna-san.ã
While tidying up, Karin-san called my name in a little voice.
ãWhat is it?ã
ãWill we really be able to open a store in Crimonia?ã
ãYes, but it wonât be just bread.ã
ãWhy are you doing so much for us?ã
ãI want to eat delicious bread.ã
ãHuuuh?ã
ãI want to eat delicious bread. Just that is largely sufficient, right? Letâs stop blabbering, hurry and finish tidying up. We donât know when those men will come back after all.ã
As if we were running away at night, we placed all of the items in the house and the bakery inside the item bags and the Bear Box before running through the back door.
ãExcuse me...where are the two of us going now?ã
ãFor now, you can just come and live at my house. We shall see how things turn out, and weâll head to Crimonia after that.ã
Without encountering those men, we arrived at the Bear House.
ãBear?ã
Seeing the house, the two of them tilted their heads.
ãWell, stop with that reaction and come inside.ã
I took them inside the house.
ãIâll let you see the bedrooms later. You can use the second floor.ã
ãUmmm, I want to thank you again.ã
ãDonât worry about it.ã
ãBut, at that rate, I donât know what wouldâve happened to Karin.ã
ãSo, who were they?ã
ãWell, they were the subordinates of a merchant called Jorz. Heâs the merchant that said he would sell the place cheaply to my husband, but it was a scam. The place wasnât cheap, and an enormous price was written on the contract. My husband wanted to sue him, but we couldnât do anything about it since it was written in the contract. My husband, saying that complaining was no good, decided that we just had to make delicious bread. And once we could finally make delicious bread, he died. At that moment, Jorz started to say that we had to repay him at the same time, and thatâs why they were harassing us.ã
ãI donât understand all of it, but what happened to the money you paid before? You purchased the bakery, so isnât it yours now?ã
ãThe problem is that there was a term saying that if my husband died, the shop would return to Jorz, it seems.ã
ãSimply put, you thought you bought it cheaply, but it was really pricy, and in addition to this, if your husband died, the shop would return to the hands of the merchant Jorz...Your husband has been deceived a little too much, donât you think?ã
ãYes, my husband didnât know how to distrust strangers.ã
ãWhat an incredibly perfid merchant!ã
âAs one would expect, he was a stupid husband!â I couldnât say that...
I guided them to the rooms, and told them that I would rest for a bit.
We ate lunch afterwards, and while I was taking my afternoon nap, it became noisy outside.
ãGet out here!ã
ãWeâll break the door!ã
ãYou bear! Come out!ã
Itâs so noisy outside...
I will have to construct a soundproof barrier...
ãBig Sis Yuna...ã
ãDonât worry, nobody can enter.ã
ãBut...ã
ãYou just have to wait here.ã
When I came out, around 20 men were here.
ãYou came out, Miss Bear!ã
A fat man with a bulging stomach and a smiling face started talking to me.
A creepy face.
He had a face that made me think that even if someone told me that he had toads as relatives, I would believe it.
ãWho the hell are you?ã
ãI am the merchant, Jorz-sama!ã
ãThen I will recommend you to change your name to Jorz The Toad.ã
ãBitch!ã
ãStop! More importantly, I heard that youâve hurt my subordinates!ã
ãHe started it by trying to attack me with his sword. Would you prefer that he cut me in half with it?ã
ãYou think you can just simply oppose Jorz-sama here in the capital? You want to end up like the baker girl, and sold somewhere?ã
He said that with his smug face.
Ah, I wanted to hit his face!
I wanted to see his face twisted with pain.
I wanted to see his face filled with suffering.
ãBut if you give me the baker mother and daughter, I will forgive you for what youâve done this time...ã
ãExcuse me, but arenât you misunderstanding the situation if you think that itâll all go as youâve planned?ã
ãI know that missy is an adventurer. Itâs impressive that you are a Dârank while being a woman at this age, but these men here are former C and Dârankers you know! They arenât the sort of people you can win against! And lastly, look at their numbers!ã
ãNo more...It stinks, so please donât open your mouth anymore.ã
ãYou bitch!ã
I invoked earth magic.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The menâs footsteps disappeared instantly.
They all fell down a pitfall, leaving the Merchant Jorz alone.
The holes were around five meters deep, so some mightâve gotten bone fractures. If they had no luck, there was a chance that they mightâve died.
ãYou bitch...You were a magic user?ã
ãDidnât you say you investigated me?ã
ãWhen I investigated at the guild, your occupation was that of a Bear, you know.ã
So nostalgic! The time I wrote that my occupation was a Bear!
But, well, thatâs not a mistake...
ãThere is no way an occupation like that exists, you know? Now, what will you do? Will you dive into a pit too? Or will you overlook me? Which is better?ã
ãIs it okay for you to do this to me? I am a man that can influence the guild master of the adventurer guild you know! I could pinch and crush an adventurer of your caliber easily!ã
ãAra, was I so intimate with you?ã
Sanya-san had been standing behind Jorz for some time, listening to the discussion.
ãSanâya-san? Why are you here?ã
ãThere was a guild staff member that was attending you, and when he spilled out what he knew, he said that the infamous merchant Jorz ordered him, and so I came after you.ã
ãAnd you said that you can affect the guild master Sanya-san...What are you going to do now?ã
ãDonât joke with me! What is a guild master? I am intimate with the king you know? If I told the king, what could you do?ã
If youâll say something once, youâll say it again.
Wasnât there a saying like that?
ãWho are you, you bastard. I donât know someone like you!ã
ãWâwhy is the king in a place like this???ã
ãAh, Iâm just taking a stroll and I have a request for my best friend, the adventurer Yuna. Thatâs why I slipped out of the castle.ã
Is that really okay, your majesty???
Also, since when did we become best friends???
ãThe king? Thatâs a lie!ã
ãItâs your problem if you think itâs a lie, but using the kingâs name is a criminal act. Donât think it will end smoothly. Sanya, cuff this nasty man. I will let you contact the castle.ã
ãI donât have a choice, huh...Iâm the only one here who can do this.ã
Sanya-san arrested Jorz and tied him up.
ãLet me go! Who do you think I am?ã
ãShut up!ã
Sanya-san knocked him out.
ãSo, what does his Highness want?ã
ãWhat? Are you not going to let me enter?ã
ãYou want to come inside?ã
ãWhen you see a house like this, you would want to see the inside too, right?ã
The house in front of him was the Bear House.
ãWhy do you know where my house is?ã
ãOf course, itâs because I heard it from Eleanora.ã
ãHaaa...I understand. I will hear your story inside.ã
Why do I have to guide the king inside my house?
ãBig Sis Yuna, who is this uncle?ã
Fina asked because I let an unknown uncle enter the house.
ãItâs the king. He wanted to request something of me, so donât worry about it.ã
ãUmmm, the king?ã
She tilted her head cutely.
ãYes, the king.ã
ãThe most eminent person in this country?ã
ãYep.ã
ãWâWhy is someone like him here???ã
ãNo idea. Why not try asking him directly?ã
Fina shook her head furiously.
Did they know the kingâs face? Morin-san and Karin-san had ghastly pale faces.
ãSo what do you want?ã
I enquired the king who was looking around the room.
ãAh, thatâs right. I want you to make pudding for the birthday party. If it comes out for the dinner event, I am sure that all the people present will be surprised.ã
What is this king thinking??
Can I refuse?
ãBy the way, is a refusal...ã
ãWhat? You want to decline a personal request from me, the king?ã
I knew it...The king is someone that would just think about himself and wouldnât accept refusals from anyone.
ãItâs not that, but making pudding costs money.ã
ãIf itâs just that, I will pay.ã
ã I need clucker eggs...ã
ãEleanora said that you would have plenty of them inside your item bag.ã
This man...
ãBy the way, how many should I make? If you require too many of them, I wonât be able to do it, you know.ã
ãIf youâre doing it, that would be 300.ã
ãImpossible. The exit is this way.ã
I pointed at the entrance.
ãThen, how many can you produce?ã
ãIf I do my best, the limit would be 200. If you prepare eggs, I can make more of them, though.ã
ãThatâs impossible. Well, I understand. Then 200 of them, please.ã
ãHmmm...When is the birthday party again?ã
ãHey!ã
The king retorted.
I didnât have any interest, but there was no choice, right?
ãBig Sis Yuna, itâs in five days.ã
ãThen you are asking me to bring it on the morning of that day, right?ã
ãYes, that would be great.ã
ãI donât want anyone to know I am the one who made them...ã
ãI see. Then Iâll have you enter the castle secretly and put them in a room prepared for this.ã
ãIf you donât put it in a cold place, the deliciousness would be reduced by 50% though.ã
ãIn that case, I will prepare a refrigerator in the room.ã
If he was ready to go that far, I didnât have any reasons to refuse him.
Thus, pudding was added as the dessert for the kingâs birthday dinner party.