Chapter 514

Bear-san, Takes A Bath

The three of us took a bath together.

Yunas body is thin, white, and beautiful. (Cereille)

Cereille looks at my body without my uniform. I quickly hid my body. It was embarra.s.sing to be looked at so closely, even by someone of the same s.e.x. Unlike me, Cereilles body was beautifully toned, making me even more embarra.s.sed.

Cereille,-sama, youre also beautiful. (Yuna)

I am not sure what to call Cereille. Come to think of it, I had been calling her Cereille in my mind, but this might be the first time I called her by her name. Because of that, I was lost on how to call her Cereille.

Fufu, Cereille is fine. You call Noire by her nickname, and you dont add sama for s.h.i.+a. (Cereille)

Are you sure? Wont other people stare at me or raise a complain? (Yuna)

Its okay. Even at the school, people who are close to me call me Cereille normally. Also, dont worry about the words. Just talk to me as you have been so far. (Cereille)

I get it. Cereille. (Yuna)

Then, Cereille-sama, please call me Noa. (Noa)

Is that okay? (Cereille)

Yes, I would be happier with that. (Noa)

Then Ill call you Noa. (Cereille)

Yes. (Noa)

Cereille looked happy.

But you are beautiful, Yuna-san, and so is Cereille-sama. (Noa)

Thank you. However, you may not be able to tell from a distance, but I do have scars. (Cereille)

Cereille shows me and Noa her arm. There was indeed a tiny scar on her beautiful arm. Perhaps it was from sword practice. Noa was checking Cereilles arm seriously.

Well, its small, so it doesnt bother me that much. Im fine with it. (Cereille)

Cereille saw Noas expression and smiled gently.

After our little conversation, we headed for the bathroom.

I knew it would be a big bathroom for an aristocrat. The bathroom in my bear house was quite large, but this one was even bigger than that.

Noa, come over here and sit down. (Cereille)

Cereille looks at the small chair in front of her and calls out to Noa. Noa seemed to know what she was going to do, yet, she still sat down in the chair in front of Cereille.

I envy s.h.i.+a. She has a younger sister, who comes from far away, to support her. (Cereille)

But I was able to come because Yuna-san was with me. If it werent for Yuna-san, I dont think I would have been allowed to come. (Noa)

Noa, your parents, really trust her, dont they? (Cereille)

Cereille glanced at me as I was was.h.i.+ng my body next to her.

Yes, we all trust her. Yuna-san is a kind person who helps not only me but anyone who is in need. (Noa)

I see. (Cereille)

You wont get anything even if you praise me.

And I am not as kind as Noa claims I am. If I were indeed a kind person, I would use the power of my bear equipment and my knowledge of my former world to help more people.

I only help those I can see, and those who I want to help.

But, Im glad that Noa thinks of me that way.

Okay, Im going to wash your hair now. (Cereille)

Thank you very much. (Noa)

Cereille washes Noas long hair. I usually wash Noas hair for her, which makes me feel a little sad. Cereille happily lathers soap on Noas hair.

Then, Im gonna rinse it now. (Cereille)

Cereille poured hot water over Noas head.

Next is your back. (Cereille)

I cant make you do that much for me. (Noa)

I like doing it, so dont worry about it. Im just glad to feel like I have a sister at the end of my life. (Cereille)

At the end? (Noa)

Its nothing. Forget about it. (Cereille)

Cereille continued with Noa by was.h.i.+ng her body, finally pouring hot water over her body to rinse off the bubbles.

Yes, now your hair and body are clean. Go relax and warm up in the tub. (Cereille)

Thank you very much. (Noa)

Noa and I excused ourselves first and got into the bathtub.

It feels good, but a hot spring bath was much better when you get to know the onsen of the Land of Harmony. Of course, that doesnt mean that regular baths were no good.

It feels good. (Noa)

Noa, sitting next to me, looking comfortable. Someday, when the time comes when I can talk to Noa about the bear gate, I hope to take her to the hot springs in the Land of Harmony.

Then Cereille, who had finished was.h.i.+ng up, came over as well, and the three of us relaxed after a hard days work.

A lot happened today. We strolled around town, met with Cereille, I had a sword match with Cereille, and then we continued to stroll around town and came to Cereilles house.

After everything that happened today, Cereille was not a bad girl. At first, I thought she was a pain in the a.s.s, or at least I still think so, but. Shes a serious girl who likes to take care of things properly, the exact opposite of me, who was untruthful. Cereille was the type of girl who lives a normal life. Im the type that lives life as it comes.

If we ever live together, I bet it will be suffocating.

Noa, I have a question, is that okay? If you cant answer, you dont have to. (Cereille)

Yes, what is it? (Noa)

Its about the story of how s.h.i.+a was saved from Lord Rutum. (Cereille)

Lord Rutum? A name I didnt know came out.

I have heard that Lord Rutum tried to marry s.h.i.+a to his own son. (Cereille)

You know about it, Cereille-sama? (Noa)

I think some of the n.o.bility know about this. Count Rutum Roland has been stripped of his position as the Knight Commander and has become a teacher at the school. However, it seems that His Majesty the King has placed a gag order about the incident, so even my father doesnt know the full details. But from the way you talk, Noa, you seem to know something. (Cereille)

Etto, yeah. (Noa)

Noa nodded and then glanced at me.

What?

That Rutum person? Did something happen with s.h.i.+a? (Yuna)

Yuna-san (Noa)

Noa looks at me with a stunned expression.

I dont know why shes looking at me like that. Did I say something strange? I just asked because I was curious.

Yuna, you know s.h.i.+a, but you dont know Lord Rutum? I heard that when the school festival was taking place, Lord Rutum tried to get s.h.i.+a engaged to his own son in front of His Majesty the King. Its a terrible story, isnt it? But then, I heard a man das.h.i.+ngly and quickly appeared. And he told His Majesty that if he won the match against Lord Rutum, the leader of the knighthood, the engagement would never have happened. And that person won the match. (Cereille)

School festival? s.h.i.+as marriage proposal? His Majesty the King there? Knight Commander?

The pieces were coming together.

Could that possibly be me?

I point to myself while looking at Noa.

Noa gave a small nod. So thats why when I asked her, she had a dumbfounded look on her face.

I dont remember the name Rutum to begin with. I barely even fought with that uncle, the Knight Commander.

But wait a minute. Didnt she just say a man at the end?

Did you say a man? (Yuna)

No, I didnt know the gender, but I think its usually a male. (Cereille)

Its a girl. But I cannot raise my voice and simply swallow my words.

If the gender was not revealed, one might normally a.s.sume that it was a man who fought the Knight Commander. And moreover, a person who won against him.

Etto, that was (Noa)

Noas eyes were swimming, and she began to think hard. Its like shes trying to hide me from me.

You cant tell me after all? I asked my father, but His Majesty the King seemed to have issued a gag order, so he didnt tell me. (Cereille)

Is that so? (Yuna)

Yes, my father also tried to find out how Lord Rutum was stripped of the knight captain and became a teacher at the school, but he said he stopped because he found out that the Gag Order was in place. (Cereille)

But if you really wanted to find out, wouldnt it be easy for an aristocrat to do so? (Yuna)

Of course, we can look into it. But if we know that His Majesty the King issued a gag order, and you still ignore His Majestys words, you will be in trouble if His Majesty heard that you are looking into the matter. His Majesty the King has implicitly said that he will not allow anyone to investigate. There is no value in breaking that rule and investigating Lord Rutum. However, what I am interested in is the man who defeated Lord Lutum. As a fellow woman, I envy s.h.i.+a for having a man who is willing to go that far. Is s.h.i.+a in a relations.h.i.+p with that man? (Cereille)

Youre a dreaming maiden, arent you?

But that person was not a man.

Its me, you know?

Even so, I wonder if the story at that time got twisted and jumbled?

Or was it just a lack of information?

Oneesama is not dating that person. I just cant tell you who that person is. (Noa)

Noa apologized.

No, its fine. But I envy s.h.i.+a for having such a romantic story. I just thought that if such a strong person was by my side too, he might help me when I am in trouble. (Cereille)

Her expression was not the kind of face a maiden longing for something, but a very serious one.

Cereille-sama? (Noa)

Noa also noticed Cereilles expression and called out to her.

Its nothing. Im sorry for asking you to do something you couldnt. Well then, lets get out of here. (Cereille)

With that said, Cereille got out of the bathtub.

Noa and I followed suit.

After drying our hair and getting dressed, we returned to our room.

By the way, I cant wear my bear costume, so Im still in my uniform.

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Authors Note:

Rutums name came up once again.

Cereille doesnt seem to know the details.

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