Chapter 441

441 Bear-san, Buying Candy Crafts

The next morning, I was gently woken up by Hugging Bear. Hugging Bears mood had completely improved.

Thats good. Im glad.

By the way, Swaying Bear was curled up at my feet, as if he was being careful this time.

After eating breakfast, I am walking around the city with s.h.i.+n.o.bu, looking for a man with an eye patch and a scar on his cheek.

[Theyre watching us.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Yeah.] Yuna

[Theyre pointing fingers at us.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Yeah.] Yuna

[Theyre whispering something.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Yeah.] Yuna

[All I can hear are

.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Yeah.] Yuna

Yesterday, we left early in the morning when there were still few people around, so we didnt attract as much attention.

But today, the sun was up, and as time goes by, the number of pa.s.sersby increased.

I ignored them as I walked, but s.h.i.+n.o.bu seemed to be restless.

Well, ninjas are supposed to act inconspicuously, so does that bother her?

[Im embarra.s.sed to be seen like this. Why dont you change your clothes, Yuna?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Im not changing. Do you have a problem with my Ichizora?

*

] Yuna

I ask in a slightly stronger tone.

This bear costume is my everyday wear, and its also my Ichizora.

[No, I dont. I was just wondering if you werent embarra.s.sed by it.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

Of course, its embarra.s.sing. But I cant help it, because I cant take it off. Besides, were going to catch a criminal. I cant just take off my bear gear.

[If you dont want to, we can just pretend this never happened, you know?] Yuna

[Ill put up with it.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

s.h.i.+n.o.bu gave up and just kept walking.

People have to give up at some point, you know.

=====

We looked around and searched for the man based on s.h.i.+n.o.bus information.

[Hmmm, its not easy to find him.] Yuna

[If he was that easy to find, we wouldnt have a hard time searching for him.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

Well, shes right.

If he had been easy to find, I wouldnt have attracted so much attention.

[Im getting hungry. Is there anything you want to eat, Yuna? You can use my money, and Ill treat you.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Are you sure?] Yuna

[Its fine.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Well, I guess Ill take you up on your offer then.] Yuna

I took s.h.i.+n.o.bus word for it and headed to the restaurant I was interested in.

[Here?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

From the front of the restaurant, we could smell the delicious scent.

[Eels?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

Yes, I found it when I was looking for the guy. Eel. Unaju

**

. We might be fighting soon, so its important to nourish ourselves.

[This place looks expensive.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

It sounds like s.h.i.+n.o.bu doesnt want to enter.

The stores exterior certainly looks expensive, giving it a luxurious look.

But Im in a mood for eel right now.

Theres no way Im not going to enter.

[I dont even need to worry about money, its s.h.i.+n.o.bus money, so no problem.] Yuna

[Yunas a demon.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

Well, whatever, I went inside the restaurant to eat eel.

=====

[Welcome? Bear?] Lady

The female shopkeeper froze when she saw me. Well, its just the usual reaction. I talked to the female shopkeeper.

[Theres two of us.] Yuna

[Ah, yes. There are two of you. Please take this seat.] Lady

The female shopkeeper glanced at me as if she was looking at something strange.

Of course, I ignored those stares of her.

But still, it smells good.

I cant wait to try it.

We were shown to our seats and looked at the menu.

[Which one do you want, Yuna?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

There was one that caught my attention.

Golden Special Unaju. And the most expensive at that.

[Golden Special Unaju.] Yuna

Given that Im a posh person, its essential to order the most expensive one.

[Golden Special Unaju? lets get something cheaper.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Golden Special Unaju.] Yuna

I repeated the same words again.

[U~u, then, well have the Golden Special Unaju and this ordinary unaju, please.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

s.h.i.+n.o.bu gave the shopkeeper our order.

With a subtle expression, the shopkeeper said

, then took off with our order.

[But what is golden eel?] Yuna

[Did you order it without knowing? Its called golden eel because it looks golden when reflected in the light, unlike ordinary eel. The taste is also different from regular eel, its fatty and delicious.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

If its that good, Ill have to order extra.

And after a short wait, the Golden Special Unaju comes.

Ooh, that looks delicious.

Obviously, it was different from the eel in front of s.h.i.+n.o.bu.

I grabbed my chopsticks and started eating the unaju. It was soft. I cut the eel with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth along with the rice.

[Delicious.] Yuna

The sauce is also delicious.

[Thats right. Thats a Golden Special Unaju.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

After saying that, s.h.i.+n.o.bu also began to eat her unaju.

[Is Yuna some kind of n.o.ble lady somewhere? Youre staying in an expensive room, and you dont mind ordering expensive things.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Im just an ordinary adventurer.] Yuna

[No normal adventurer would stay at such an expensive inn by themself, or order an expensive Golden Special Unaju.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Is that so? s.h.i.+n.o.bu, you earn money, dont you? That also means you have to spend your money too.] Yuna

[I like to save up instead.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

Its important to save money, but if youre earning it, you need to spend it too. If everyone saved their money, the economy would be in trouble.

Well, putting s.h.i.+n.o.bu aside, this unaju, can I take this unaju home with me?

I want Fina to try it. It might also be a good idea to take it to Zeref-san.

[Whats the matter?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[I was wondering if I could take some home as a souvenir.] Yuna

[The eels?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Its delicious. I just thought Id feed it to some kids I know.] Yuna

Even if I bring the eel home, I cant cook it this good, and I dont have the sauce. At least, with how good the eels are cooked here, it might be a good idea to buy them.

[Eels taste best when theyre freshly cooked. If I take it home like so, it wont taste as good.] Yuna

[I agree.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

Since I cant buy eel now, Ill ask if I can get some to go next time.

I finished eating my unaju.

Yeah, it was delicious. Satisfying, savory.

And then pay for our meal.

Of course, not with s.h.i.+n.o.bus money, but with my own.

[Youre not going to spend the money I gave you?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Ill use it after youre dead, s.h.i.+n.o.bu.] Yuna

[Yuna] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Oh, but pay for yourself.] Yuna

[Uh, yeah, sure.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

s.h.i.+n.o.bu paid for her unaju with a subtle look on her face.

I dont mind if its Fina and the others, but theres no reason to buy a meal for s.h.i.+n.o.bu, a fellow adventurer.

=====

With our stomachs full, we walked to a place where we thought he might stop by to look for him.

Weve been walking around all morning, but we cant find any man who fits the bill.

[Are you sure hes around here?] Yuna

[Ive got a tip that he was seen here.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[And you trust that information?] Yuna

[I dont have any other information.] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

If thats the case, it cant be helped. On the other hand, I dont want to have a lot of information about where hes last seen. In the end, we had to rely on the information, walk steadily, and look for the man.

I look around. But all I see are stares as if they were looking at something strange.

I ignore the stares and kept looking around. In the midst of my gaze, a stall on the side of the road catches my eye.

[Oh, whats that?] Yuna

I started to run.

[Yuna, where are you going? Did you find him?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

s.h.i.+n.o.bu calls out behind me, but I head straight for the stall.

[What the heck? Bear?] Uncle

The man at the stall was surprised by my sudden appearance.

I ignored him and looked at the food on display.

The food stall was lined with many candy crafts.

[What is it? Candy? Youre a kid too, arent you?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

s.h.i.+n.o.bu comes over to me, looking uninterested.

Ive seen it on TV, but this is the first time Ive seen it personally, so Im interested.

Animals such as rabbits, birds, horses, dogs, cats, cows, pigs, foxes, racc.o.o.ns, and fruits such as apples, oranges, and strawberries. Goldfish, fish, squid, and octopus. There are also various colorful flowers, beautiful b.u.t.terflies, bird chicks, and large birds. They all look like works of art.

While there are many animals, there are no bears. Are bears not popular here?

Well, if I ate them, it would be cannibalism. But personally, Im sad that there are no bears.

[What? Bear girl, you buying or something?] Uncle

The man at the stall was surprised by my appearance, but he approached me while I was looking at the candy crafts.

[All of it] Yuna

Im sure the kids would love it if I bought it for them. Personally, I was disappointed that there were no bears. Although, if there had been bears, they might fight for it.

Recently, perhaps because of my influence, more and more children are starting to like bears.

[Little girl. Its not that expensive, but do you have any money? If youre joking, go away.] Uncle

The uncle raised his eyebrows a little.

Apparently, he thinks Im fooling around for saying I wanted it all.

[Ill pay for it. Ive never seen such beautiful Amezaiku*** before, so I thought youd like it if I brought it home as a souvenir.] Yuna

[I see. Im sorry for doubting you. Im glad you said that. But do you really have that kind of money?] Uncle

The man looks a little uneasy.

[I do.] Yuna

[Youre not talking about my money, are you!?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

[Of course, not.] Yuna

Youre worrying too much. I paid for my own eel, after all.

But do you really intend to give me the money?

Well, I dont plan to use it because I felt its bad luck since if I touched s.h.i.+n.o.bus money even a little, s.h.i.+n.o.bu might really die.

So Ill buy what I want with my own money.

I calculated the total amount and paid for all the candy crafts that were lined up.

[I think this will be enough.] Yuna

[Yeah, youre right. Im sorry I doubted you.] Uncle

The man makes an honest apology.

[But how are you going to bring it home?] Uncle

[Ill put it in a box, then Ill put it in the item bag.] Yuna

I took out a box and put away all the candy crafts that I had bought as souvenirs.

[Im going to have to make a new batch.] Uncle

[Uncle, are you not making bears? There are so many animals, but I didnt find bears.] Yuna

[What? You want bears too, little girl? Well, from the way youre dressed, I can tell you like bears.] Uncle

[Me too?] Yuna

[The bears have been popular for two days now, and every time I make them they sell out. Bears sold fast.] Uncle

Two days ago? Could that mean?

[Ive never sold so many bears in my life.] Uncle

The uncle looks at me strangely.

[Moreover, some kids even said the bear doesnt look like this, and I dont think he knows what a bear looks like.] Uncle

[Could that be about you, Yuna?] s.h.i.+n.o.bu

I arrived three days ago, and Ive been walking around the town for two days.

At s.h.i.+n.o.bus words, the man glanced at me.

[I see. They said something about a cute little bear.] Uncle

Stop looking at people and telling them theyre cute.

Well, I understand that its not about me, its about the cute bear outfit, not me.

Im not that conceited.

As the uncle began to heat the candy, he began to cut and stretch the shapeless candy with what looked like scissors to create a shape. It was like an art form, like a magic hand, creating the shape of the candy.

And the finished product was an Amezaiku of a girl dressed in a stuffed bear costume.

[Its amazing, Uncle.] Yuna

Yes, its amazing, but why am I the model?

[Here you go, little girl.] Uncle

For some reason, the man offers it to me.

[Thanks to you. Ive just finished a new piece of Amezaiku.] Uncle

Are you selling it, by any chance?

I can only imagine how bad it will go.

Then, he said he would take my request, so I had him make me some regular bear candy crafts.