Chapter 433

433 Bear-san, Buys Tatami Mats

The next morning, I woke up on a futon laid out on the tatami floor.

Its morning already?

Yesterday, after finis.h.i.+ng the meal. I went to the hot spring once again and fell asleep while my body was still warm.

When I got up, the cub-sized Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, who had been sleeping curled up on either side of me, also got up.

[Good morning, both of you.] Yuna

<

>

After putting away the futon and changing into my black bear, I thought about my plans for the day.

I want to buy tatami mats if I can and visit the Adventurers Guild. Id also like to buy some other souvenirs for Fina and the others if there are any. Finally, Id like to discover some unusual things.

As I was thinking about my plans for the day, there was a knock at the door.

I told Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to hide. Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear trudged off to the next room to hide.

When I opened the door, I saw Konoha.

[Good morning. Ive brought you breakfast.] Konoha

[Thank you.] Yuna

[Did you sleep well?] Konoha

[Yeah, the hot springs were nice too.] Yuna

[Im glad to hear that.] Konoha

Breakfast was simple, grilled fish, miso soup, seaweed, and pickles.

Speaking of which, Ill have to eat lunch outside, but I wonder if theres anything good to eat out there.

=====

After breakfast, I returned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to the bear puppets, then left the room.

Then I see Konoha near the entrance of the inn.

[Are you going out?] Konoha

[Yeah, I have a question though, is there a place that sells tatami?] Yuna

[Tatami?] Konoha

[Yeah, I like it so much. I think Ill buy some and set it up back in my home.] Yuna

[Im glad you like it. You can find the store selling tatami mats by walking for a while along the road to the right after leaving the inn. But can you take it home with you?] Konoha

[I have an item bag, so its okay.] Yuna

I also asked for the location of the commercial guild, the adventurers guild, and the citys tourist attractions, and wrote them down on a piece of paper.

[Thanks.] Yuna

I thanked her and left the inn.

=====

Ill head to the tatami mat shop first.

As I walked along the streets, people who saw me shouted in surprise.

The bear costume stands out wherever I go.

I pulled my bear hood to cover my face.

When a few kids came up close and started to go around me saying

and

I wanted to kick them, but I put up with it.

As soon as I shouted a loud

, they left.

You people are not doing a very good job of educating these kids. You should learn from the kids in the orphanage and Fina and the others.

Still, these are j.a.panese-style houses lined up. The roof tiles alone are enough to make a difference. If there were no roof tiles, the houses might have been ordinary wooden structures.

I wonder if they have castles in this country?

Is there a castle, like the ones in j.a.pan?

If they have it, Id like to see it. Ill ask Konoha about it when I get back to the inn.

=====

I walked up to the tatami mat shop while suffering from being repeatedly pointed at as they shout

.

[I think its somewhere around here.] Yuna

As I looked at the map on the paper and looked around, I saw a signboard with a picture of tatami mats on it.

Here it is.

[Pardon the intrusion~] Yuna

I called out as I entered the store.

[Yes~.] Clerk

A woman wearing an ap.r.o.n comes running towards me.

[Sorry to keep you waiting- bear?] Clerk

The woman froze when she saw me.

Well, its always the same, so I talked to her, ignoring the word

.

[I want to buy tatami mats.] Yuna

[Etto, tatami?] Clerk

What else do they sell at tatami shops?

[I heard I could get it here.] Yuna

[Ah, yes. Tatami mat. You can buy it here.] Clerk

The woman seemed to be concerned about my outfit, but I immediately asked her about the tatami mats.

[Well then, Sweetie. How many tatami mats do you need? Where is your house? Are you asking for replacements? Do you need it in a rush?] Clerk

The woman asked me a lot of questions.

Well, she would normally think that Im asking for tatami mat replacements.

I kind of imagine that no one takes tatami mats home with them.

[My house isnt in this city, so I just need the tatami mats.] Yuna

[Is that so? Sweetie, did you come here by yourself?] Clerk

[Im on my own.] Yuna

I dont want her to treat me like a child, but I guess I look like a child in this outfit.

After all, its the first time shes seen this kind of outfit. I always wonder if this outfit looks childish, especially for those whos seeing it for the first time.

If so, being called strange might be better.

[Etto, Sweetie. Take a look at what Im talking about. Tatami mats are big and heavy. So you cant carry them home by yourself] Clerk

The woman showed me the tatami mats in the store.

A sheet of tatami is large and heavy. If I didnt have my bear gear, I wouldnt be able to lift it.

[Did you come in a carriage, by any chance?] Clerk

The woman glanced outside.

[I have an item bag. So Ill be fine.] Yuna

[Item bag? Would that work? So how many do you need?] Clerk

The woman seemed convinced and proceeded with the transaction.

She asked me again how many tatami mats I wanted to buy.

Four and a half tatami mats? Six Tatami? Eight Tatami?

Is six tatami mats enough?

I can change the bear house in the royal capital, the top room of the bear building in Mereera town, or one of the bear houses for travel.

And I can imagine the children in the orphanage lounging around on the floor. Maybe tatami mats would be better than carpets.

I did a simple calculation and answered the woman.

[About sixty, I think.] Yuna

When I look around at the room in the store, I see tatami mats piled up. Thats about right, isnt it?

[Etto, Sweetie. Tatami is not cheap. And isnt that a lot? You might want to get confirmation from your parents first.] Clerk

The woman says gently, confirming.

Well, if a girl like me asked for 60 tatami mats, of course, she would have this reaction, wouldnt she

[You dont have to worry about the money.] Yuna

[And no matter how many item bags you have, you cant possibly fit that many in there, can you?] Clerk

This woman is so worrywart, shes worried about a lot of things, whether for herself or me.

Well, I suppose its both.

I checked the price of the tatami mats and paid for 60 of them.

The woman was surprised when she saw the money, but she seemed convinced.

[So, what kind of tatami do you want?] Clerk

Unfortunately, I dont possess the knowledge of what makes a good and bad tatami in my head.

So, Ill buy a good quality tatami for my room, and the rest are regular tatami.

She gave me a small discount.

When I put the tatami in the bear box, the woman looked at me with surprise.

[Ah, thank you very much.] Clerk

The woman bows her head to me as I leave the store.

Im really glad I could use the currency that I have. Its not always easy to spend money in different countries.

But with this, I can now make a j.a.panese-style room when I get home.

Having successfully purchased tatami mats, I went on to purchase j.a.panese-style chests and furniture.

It is a bad habit of mine to buy things when I want them, regardless of whether I will use them or not.

If Fina finds out about this, shell be very upset.

Ill buy a wooden frog sculpture and a hand mirror to put Fina in a good mood. I thought it would be counterproductive, but I couldnt think of any other way to make her happy, so I had no choice.

Would she have preferred food?

I thought about such things as I ate some dumplings for lunch.

=====

Then, after wandering around, shopping here and there, I came to the Adventurers Guild.

The guild has a tiled roof too.

When I took a peek, I saw ordinary adventurers as well as samurai-like adventurers.

When I entered, as usual, I attracted a lot of attention.

What was that last one?

Did I hear it wrong?

I looked around the room and saw one frightened adventurer looking at me.

Do you know me by any chance?

But why are you freaking out?

At any rate, they didnt talk to me, so I went through them.

There are several adventurers in the room, watching me, but no one calls out to me. I dont seem to get tangled up in anything this time.

I looked around the room and then at the receptionist.

At the reception desk, a woman of about 20 years old was sitting there, dressed in a j.a.panese kimono. The womans hair is done up with an ornamental hairpin. Its j.a.panese-style.

The receptionist is looking at me intently.

[Anou, theres something Id like to ask.] Yuna

[Y, yes, what is it?] Receptionist

Receptionist-san looks at me as if she is observing me.

I know youre curious, but Im going to ask you about the guild.

[Does the Adventurers Guild accept guild cards from other countries?] Yuna

[Yes, you can use it.] Receptionist

According to the receptionist, the Adventurers Guild was spread by someone who came from another country. Thats why you can use any adventurers card from anywhere.

It seems that the guild that started in country A spread to neighboring country B, then to neighboring country C, then to neighboring country D, and E, then to neighboring country G, then finally to the Land of Harmony.

So, since the system is the same, they can read the contents of the guild card.

[Etto, are you an adventurer?] Receptionist

[Thats right.] Yuna

When I told them I was an adventurer, the room became noisy.

When I looked at the adventurers, the receptionist stood up and opened her mouth to the crowd of adventurers.

[Everyone, if you dont want to work, please go home. This is not the place to kill time.] Receptionist

[Were just exchanging info.] Adventurer 1

[Yeah, thats right.] Adventurer 2

[Because exchanging information is important.] Adventurer 3

[You say that every day. Do your work once in a while.] Receptionist

The receptionist was dismayed.

Perhaps because they came too late, other than the adventurer I mentioned earlier, the one who said b.l.o.o.d.y Bear, there were only a few others.

After hearing what I need from the receptionist, I was about to move away from her to check the request board when a man dressed in kimono walked in and went to the receptionist.

[I made a request yesterday, has anyone accepted yet?] Man

[Itsuki-san, was it? The request has not been accepted yet.] Receptionist

[Thats not good. Our livestock, cattle, and birds are being attacked. If no one took it out, its a matter of life and death.] Itsuki

[It is up to the adventurer to decide whether or not to accept the request. In a manner of speaking, you can ask an adventurer directly, but when it comes to Kamaitachi, they need to be good adventurers to defeat it.] Receptionist

The receptionist glanced at the remaining adventurers.

The adventurers looked away.

[It has to be a pretty good adventurer to do that.] Receptionist

The receptionist said it for the second time and looked at the man.

Apparently, the remaining adventurers here are of low rank.

[Please do something about it. The village is in danger.] Itsuki

The man bows his head and places it on the receptionists table.

[Please raise your head.] Receptionist

Kamaitachi is a kind of monster that cuts with the blade of the wind, I think?

Is that a kind of monster here?

[Please] Itsuki

The Man didnt lift his head.

[Do you want me to take care of it?] Yuna

I was curious about that monster too, so I called out to the man.

=====

Authors Note:

She bought tatami mats and came over to the adventurers guild.

There arent many j.a.panese monsters that are close to demons.

Anyway, here comes the Kamaitachi.

I beg your pardon. Im in the final stages of revising my SS, so my next post may be delayed a day or two. Thank you for your understanding.