Chapter 736: Chapter 734

Bear-san Plays Hide-and-Seek, Part 2

The conversation went on without my consent, and I ended up deciding to play hide-and-seek with Shinobu.

It wasn’t so much hide-and-seek anymore and more about me looking for Shinobu.

“All right. Let’s do this. But don’t hide in the attic or places that can’t be normally accessed.” (Yuna)

“Okay, I understand. But Yuna might be able to do the same as I did [locate people using sound], so I’ll ask you to wear earplugs and a blindfold.” (Shinobu)

I was not a ninja, so I couldn’t find her the way she did.

I didn’t even have the skill to know where someone was just by sound.

To be fair, I didn’t need such a skill to begin with.

“Also, you guys should never talk to Yuna.” (Shinobu)

“I’ll be watching her to make sure it is fair, so don’t worry.” (Sakura)

Sakura offered.

Ugh, what a hassle.

To get this over with quickly, I followed everyone’s instructions and put on blindfolds and earplugs.

It was pitch black, and I couldn’t hear a sound.

I waited patiently, not moving.

After a while, the blindfold and earplugs were removed.

“Is it over?” (Yuna)

“Yes, the sand from the hourglass has emptied.” (Sakura)

It was a real pain in the neck.

Why did I have to play hide-and-seek at my age?

What was the fun in looking for Shinobu?

“Yuna-san, please do your best.” (Noa)

Everyone looked at me with expectant eyes.

“Yes, I’ll do my best.” (Yuna)

I used my detection skills to get this done quickly.

It might be called a foul, but it was impossible to find Shinobu, who was good at hiding without resorting to unusual methods.

To be frank, I don’t stand a chance.

“It’s this way.” (Yuna)

“Yuna-san, do you know?” (Noa)

“Yes, I do.” (Yuna)

I started to walk, and everyone followed me.

I went down the stairs and moved to the second floor.

And I walked down the hallway and stopped in front of a room.

It was in this room.

I opened the sliding door.

Where was she?

The wall?

I touched the wall.

The feedback was from beyond the wall, i.e. Shinobu was outside.

I moved away from the wall to a nearby window, unlocked the lock, and opened the window.

Then I looked to the side.

I spotted Shinobu.

Shinobu was stuck to the wall.

“How did you know I was here?” (Shinobu)

“I just managed to find you.” (Yuna)

“There’s no way you could find me at random. Also, it hasn’t been that long since you started looking for me. Sakura-sama, what do you think?” (Shinobu)

“Yuna-sama came straight to this room.” (Sakura)

“Was it Hugging Bear, Swaying Bear, or magic? Is it magic?” (Shinobu)

“Well, I didn’t feel like she was talking to Swaying Bear or Hugging Bear. When I removed the blindfold and earplugs, she came straight to this room and opened the window without even a moment’s trouble.” (Sakura)

“Yuna, tell the truth.” (Shinobu)

I could have told her how I found her, but that would have broken the setting where I had always attributed what I found to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

So, therefore, I simply said, “It’s a secret.”

“One more time.” (Shinobu)

“It’s too much trouble, I don’t want to.” (Yuna)

“I’ve been told that she is excellent at hiding. What do you think?” (Sakura)

“Yes, she is excellent at it. She hid behind a locked window.” (Yuna)

“Well, there’s a little trick to it.” (Shinobu)

“You’re a professional thief, aren’t you?” (Yuna)

“No, I am not! Anyway, let’s play one more time.” (Shinobu)

Shinobu would not back down, so I had no choice but to go along with her one more time.

“Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, let me cover your mouth.” (Shinobu)

Shinobu then took out a long piece of cloth and began to cover Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear’s mouths.

“I think this should be okay now.” (Shinobu)

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked a little unhappy.

“I’ll take it off when this game is over, and neither Sakura-sama nor Fina-sama should take it off.” (Shinobu)

Sakura and the others nodded.

Shinobu went away to hide, and I had to wait for the sand to fall from the hourglass.

When the upper hourglass was empty, the blindfold and earplugs were removed.

“Yuna-san, are you ready?” (Noa)

I walked off to find Shinobu.

“Yuna-sama, you already know where Shinobu is?” (Sakura)

Well, I could find out by using my detection skills.

Since I knew the number of people in the house and that Fina and the others were already here, inevitably, the last response would be from Shinobu.

It was a cheap trick, but I decided to get it over with.

Again, I headed straight for the marker.

Noa asked with curiosity, “Yuna-san, how do you know her location?”

Misa also commented, “You didn’t hear the sound because your ears were covered, right?”

“And Shinobu probably tried not to make any footsteps for Yuna to hear.” (Fina)

Shuri said while touching Swaying Bear’s mouth, “Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear are not talking.”

“Fina, do you know how Yuna-san knows where Shinobu is?” (Noa)

“Um…I don’t know.” (Fina)

Did I ever tell Fina about my detection skill, or rather, the ability to know where monsters and people were?

I think we’ve talked about this before.

Maybe she just said that to mislead them?

“I already mentioned this to Shinobu before, but how I do it is a secret.” (Yuna)

This time, I was able to find Shinobu, who was hiding again quickly.

She asked me for a rematch, but I politely declined.

Because as long as I cheat, I would win, and if I didn’t cheat, I wouldn’t win. Not only would I not win, but I would never be able to find her.

Well, then, I just have to ignore it.

“This time, Yuna will hide, and I will find her. This Shinobu will definitely win.” (Shinobu)

She was persistent.

Sakura warned Shinobu about her persistence.

“Shinobu, don’t bother Yuna-sama.” (Sakura)

“Ugh, I understand.” (Shinobu)

“And also don’t hide in dangerous places. What if Fina and the others imitate you?” (Sakura)

“I’m sorry.” (Shinobu)

By the way, during this round, she was stuck to the ceiling. Compared to her, I wouldn’t be able to hide outside the window or on the ceiling.

Well, a lot had happened, but the hide-and-seek was over, and Noa and her friends, tired of playing, were all sleeping together, snuggling up to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

“How was Sakura?” (Yuna)

“She seemed happy. She has been smiling a lot lately, but she doesn’t have any friends of her own age.” (Shinobu)

“Really?” (Yuna)

“It’s partly because of her royal blood, but also because she’s been working as a priestess since she was very young.” (Shinobu)

It was the right decision to bring Noa and the others.

“Besides, Noa and Misa also cared about Sakura-sama. They played with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear together. And of course, she also enjoyed talking to Fina and Shuri.” (Shinobu)

I see.

“Well, we mainly talked about Yuna.” (Sakura)

What?

“What did you talk about?” (Yuna)

“That’s a secret.” (Sakura)

Everyone didn’t talk about anything weird, did they?

I looked at Sakura and the others who were sleeping comfortably.

I felt calm because things have been so chaotic lately.

Peace was the best, after all.

And when Noa and the others woke up, we prepared dinner.

Initially, they wanted to cook together, but there was a former member of a royal family, two noble ladies, a fox, a ninja, and Shuri, who was still very young.

Basically, only Fina and Shinobu could be entrusted with the task.

Fina and I would prepare the meal while everyone else played with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

After the meal was over, we ate fruits from Targui for dessert.

“This fruit is delicious!” (Kagali)

Kagali-san was eating a banana.

It may indeed be rare in the Land of Wa.

I have never seen it in Crimonia either.

“I want to eat it, but I am too full to eat anything.” (Noa)

“Me too.” (Misa)

“Yuna Nee-chan, I’m in pain.” (Shuri)

Everyone collapsed on the tatami mats.

“You shouldn’t eat too much.” (Yuna)

“It was delicious.” (Shuri)

“Yes. All the food was delicious.” (Sakura)

Even if the food was delicious, overeating was not good.

“Yuna-san, Fina, I am sorry. I made you clean up.” (Noa)

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, Shinobu-san helped us too.” (Fina)

Noa and the others were too full to move, so Fina, Shinobu, and I washed the dishes.

After we finished eating, we started to relax.

Noa was looking out the window.

“The lake is beautiful at night.” (Noa)

The moonlight painted a different scene than during the day.

Misa, Shuri, Fina, and Sakura were also looking out.

“It’s even better when you see it while taking a hot spring bath.” (Sakura)

Indeed, it was.

After taking an after-dinner break, we headed for the hot springs.

Free-flowing hot-spring water.

And the hot water was always clean.

“This is where we take off our clothes.” (Shuri)

Shuri, who had been here once, told Noa and Misa.

I could tell from how they were moving around in the changing rooms that they were old enough for me to not explain what to do when in a hot spring.

Once everyone was naked, they left the changing room and headed for the hot springs.

Fina stopped Shuri, who was about to get into the hot spring right away, and told her to wash herself.

Shuri reluctantly obeyed Fina.

Noa and Misa saw this and, acting as older sisters, refused to enter the hot springs without washing their bodies.

Sakura and Shinobu washed their bodies before being warned.

And Kagali-san, who followed along with them, soaked herself in the hot spring without bothering to wash first.

“Oh, Kagali nee-chan. No, you can’t.” (Shuri)

“This one has been in her room all day. I’m not dirty. And I can simply pour hot water before soaking.” (Kagali)

“Is that so?” (Shuri)

Well, if someone was not moving and not sweating, it should be fine to take a hot bath directly.

We each washed our bodies as we pleased and got into the hot spring.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had turned into cubs, looked like they were having a hard time being washed by everyone.

Now, perhaps tired of being washed, they were resting their heads on the edge of the hot spring and looking out.

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were standing side by side on either side of the bath, watching over the kids soaking in the hot water.

“It’s beautiful.” (Misa)

“The view of the sea from Mileela was beautiful, but this view is beautiful too.” (Noa)

“When you say Mileela, it’s a town with a connection to this country, isn’t it?” (Sakura)

“Yesterday, we were in the town of Mileela.” (Noa)

Noa answered Sakura’s question.

“I heard it would take days to get there by boat, but to be able to come here instantly, it’s a strange door.” (Noa)

“I want one too.” (Shinobu)

“I can’t give it away, and even if I could, it wouldn’t open.” (Yuna)

“That’s terrible!” (Shinobu)

Seeing Shinobu struggling, the people around her burst into laughter.

“I want to go to Fina’s town, too.” (Sakura)

“Well, if Sakura has time, I’ll take you there.” (Yuna)

“Is that okay?” (Sakura)

I said I’d take her there before, and stayed put.

“But keep it a secret.” (Yuna)

“Yuna, what about me?” (Shinobu)

“I’m going to ask you to stay at home.” (Yuna)

“But, Sakura will need an escort.” (Shinobu)

“I’m with her, and if I really need an escort for her, I’ll ask Kagali-san.” (Yuna)

“Me?” (Kagali)

“Kagali-san has common sense and will keep my secret.” (Yuna)

“I’ll keep your secret too.” (Shinobu)

“Shinobu, I don’t know what you might do in places where you have never been before…” (Yuna)

“That’s terrible!” (Shinobu)

Again, laughter broke out around us.

Well, the fact of the matter was, despite her appearance, Kagali-san was the most trustworthy person I had ever met.

The only problem was that she was just as lazy as I was.

“So, Yuna nee-sama, what are we going to do tomorrow?” (Misa)

“We will be going to look around the towns in the Land of Wa. I think you all will be surprised at how different the towns here are.” (Yuna)

“I’m looking forward to it.” (Misa)

“Alright.” (Yuna)

I would be happy to show them around.

After enjoying the hot springs, we laid down on the futon and slept side by side.

Kagali-san did not return to her room, but stayed with us.

Perhaps Kagali-san was also longing for others.

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