Chapter 255

Proceeding smoothly, the wall surrounding the Capital came into sight in the early afternoon.

So big.

Shuri gasped in awe.

It was her first time seeing it, so it made sense for her to be this surprised. When I had first laid my eyes upon the capital walls, I had been awed as well.

Okay, lets walk from here on out. It would be problematic if the Bears caused a commotion.

I had already told everyone in advance, that once we were in sight of the walls, we would walk. I had explained the reason properly, so they all obediently climbed off the Bears.

Thank you, Hugging Bear-chan, Swaying Bear-chan.

Shuri patted both Bears, and was quickly followed up by Fina and Noa, who also gave their thanks. The Bears cried happily in reply. I then proceeded to thank them myself and returned them to their gloves.

We didnt walk for too long and soon reached the gates. Compared to the last time when we had come here for the kings birthday party, it was much less busy with way fewer people entering and leaving. Still, just like usual, the pa.s.sing people stared at me weirdly.

It was a gaze I could never get used to no matter how hard I tried. With three cute girls by my side, it was even worse this time.

The girls tried their best to protect me from getting stared at by walking beside and in front of me, but it felt like that simply made us stand out more. This situation could easily be described as the Beauty(ies) and the Beast (Bear).

Pa.s.sing through the gates, our next problem was figuring out how we would get to Eleanora-sans mansion. We were quite the distance away, and of course, I couldnt just summon the Bears in the middle of the capital. We could hire a horse carriage or walk all the way. What should we do?

Oh right, Yuna-san, theres something I forgot to tell you.

As I was deciding on which means of travel to pick, Noa suddenly spoke up.

In Mothers letter, she said we should go to the gatehouse after arriving at the capital.

Gatehouse?

Yes. There is a carriage waiting for us there. She figured we wouldnt be able to travel with Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan inside the capital, so she prepared one for us.

How thoughtful of her.

I wished she had told me beforehand, though. I had no idea she would have carriages prepared for us; what if we had used the Bear Gate and skipped entering through the city gates, instead? That was a close call. Well, there were plenty of excuses I could come up with, but it could still have been a pain to use them on her.

So, do you know where the gatehouse is?

Yes, its over here.

As we followed Noa, a guard approached us.

I knew it. I heard that a girl dressed as a bear has been spotted entering the capital, so I figured it must have been you, Yuna-dono.

Taking a closer look at him, I recognized the person in front of us.

Good afternoon, Ranzel-san.

Its been a while, hasnt it? Thank you for all your help with the Salbert family case.

I should have been the one thanking him. When I had first come to the capital for the kings birthday celebration, he helped me out with handling the bandit case. He had also taken care of the aftermath caused by my rampage in Sheelin. Without him, Cliff, Eleanora-san, and Gran-san, I didnt know how I would have dealt with those corrupted n.o.bles. Just thinking about that n.o.ble family made me feel sick in the stomach With everything they had done, I kind of regretted I hadnt beat them up some more. I should have at least smacked them a hundred times more for hurting my friends and other innocent people.

But please, dont go too crazy from now on. Yuna-dono, you may be an adventurer, but youre still a young girl.

Oh, it had been a while since somebody saw me as a little girl. I had been treated as a Bear far too often lately.

Thanks, I will take care. By the way, why are you here, Ranzel-san?

Eleanora-sama told me that you and Noire-sama would be coming soon and to prepare a carriage for you. Ive been waiting here at the gatehouse for the past five days.

This was definitely an abuse of authority

Well, it was for Eleanora-san, so maybe he didnt mind? Good thing we hadnt used the Bear Gate, or else we would have completely wasted five days of Ranzel-sans time.

Um, I think my mother has caused you a lot of trouble with her selfish orders. I apologize for her actions.

Noa apologized in her mothers stead.

No, please dont worry about it. This is all a part of my job.

If you were waiting for us, shouldnt you at least switch out with other people?

She most likely asked for me because you would recognize me. With that, you could be rea.s.sured and ride the carriage in peace. I think Eleanora-sama was quite concerned about that, and didnt want to send someone you didnt know.

That made sense. It did feel a lot more comfortable knowing that I would be riding in a carriage handled by Ranzel-san rather than some stranger. I should thank Eleanora-san for her consideration when we reached her.

The carriage has already been prepared, so please follow me.

Ranzel-san took the lead, and we followed.

Thanks, Noa. This really helps.

Thank you very much, Noa-sama.

Thank you, Noa-neechan.

I didnt do anything, though. This is all thanks to Mother.

Noa didnt want to take the credit.

Even so, were still grateful that you mentioned it.

Yes, thank you very much.

Thank you.

Stop it.

Noa was now troubled as we all thanked her again. Wasnt this the part where she should have proudly accepted it?

Soon, we reached the carriage and boarded it then set off towards Eleanora-sans mansion with Ranzel-san leading the horses.

Looking out the small window on the side of the carriage, I saw the capital was bustling with a lot of people as it usually did. I reminisced about the first time I had come here, and realized how many more people there had still been around during His Majestys birthday celebration; it had been a lot of trouble to even get anywhere with how crowded the streets had been.

Uwah

Shuris eyes sparkled as she looked outside. I was really glad we had brought her along.

Do you want to go sightseeing around the capital tomorrow?

Can we?

Shuri excitedly looked at me.

There are still a couple of days before the festival, so we have plenty of time to look around.

Yuna-san is right. We came all the way to the capital, so we should take some time to look around. Ill be your guide. Where do you want to go, Shuri?

Noa asked, acting like an older sister would.

I want to go to the castle!

Shuri said something preposterous.

The castle

Noa looked troubled when she heard Shuris request.

I wasnt in the position to say this, but the castle wasnt an easy place to enter.

Hmm, how much leeway did my permit for entering the castle grant me? Could I bring acquaintances in with me? I should probably check with Eleanora-san first. If it was okay, then we could take a tour.

We cant?

Shuri looked a bit disappointed.

I can try asking Mother, but

Shuri. You cant trouble Noa-sama. You promised, remember?

It seemed like Shuri had been forced to promise many things before coming to the capital.

Sorry for being selfish, Noa-neechan. Anywhere is fine as long as we all go together.

Thank you.

Noa hugged Shuri in grat.i.tude. Fina looked at the two happily, and I looked at all three of them the same way.

If Eleanora-san said I couldnt use my permit to bring Shuri to the castle, I would just have to ask the king to return a favor. I had been letting him eat all sorts of dishes and had also gifted his daughter, Princess Flora, picture books and plus.h.i.+es. Not to mention the time when I had subjugated all those monsters that were about to swarm the capital.

He could at least let me bring someone on a walk through the castle in return, right?

As the carriage rattled on, we talked about good sightseeing places. Many suggestions were flying about when the carriage came to a stop suddenly. Looking out, we realized we had arrived.

So big.

Shuri commented when she stepped out of the carriage and looked up at Eleanora-sans mansion. Well, it was a n.o.bles mansion, after all.

Ill be taking my leave now. Please give Eleanora-sama my regards.

Thank you, Ranzel-san.

I thanked him for his service, and the girls did the same. Ranzel-san smiled at us warmly before riding off.

Turning back to the mansion, I noticed that Suririna-san was already standing by the front door, smiling as she waited for us. The guards must have called for her while we were parting ways with Ranzel-san.

Noire-sama, we have been waiting for you.

Suririna-san welcomed Noa before turning to me.

Yuna-sama, thank you for escorting Noire-sama here today.

I just did my job.

Fina-sama, Im glad to see you are well.

Suririna-san, its been a while. Thank you for taking care of me before.

And this cute girl here must be Shuri-sama.

Shuri gripped Finas hand tightly.

Come on, Shuri, your greeting?

Im Shuri

Shuri said her name in a small voice.

Im one of the maids working at this mansion, Suririna.

Suririna-sans smile helped relieve Shuris nervousness, and she beamed her a smile in reply.

Everyone must be tired. Please, come inside.

Suririna-san guided us into the mansion.

Suririna, are Mother and Onee-sama here right now?

Madam is home, and s.h.i.+a-sama should be returning shortly.

I thought that Eleanora-san would come find us as soon as we arrived, yet Suririna-san took us to a deserted room and let us rest while she served some tea and snacks. After chatting with her for a while, s.h.i.+a rushed inside, still in her uniform.

I heard Noa was here.

Onee-sama, its been a while.Noa stood up to greet her.

Noa, youre really here. So is Yuna-san and Fina. And you must be Finas sister, Shuri.

s.h.i.+a-sama, its been a while. Thank you very much for inviting us to your school festival.

It was Mother who invited you to stay here, but please do have fun at the festival as well.

Yes, we will.

Everybody gave their greetings.

So, s.h.i.+a, are things going well with the festival preparations?

Yes. Thanks to you, things are going great.

Thanks to Yuna-san?

Noa tilted her head since she had no idea what her sister meant by that.

Yuna-san helped us out on deciding what we would be selling at the festival.

That reminds me, how are your cotton candy making skills coming along?

Weve been practicing everyday, so we can make them properly now. Also, since we didnt want the candy we made from practice to go to waste, weve been giving it to all the staff working at our homes. Even our families are helping us eat them.

There was only so much cotton candy a person could eat

Still, thanks to all of the practice weve done, I dare say we are able to produce them quite skillfully now.

s.h.i.+a-sama, thats amazing. Its so difficult to make cotton candy properly.

Thats right, its hard.

Shuri made a circle with her arms to gesture the shape of the cotton candy.

When I had made the cotton candies for the orphanage the other day, Fina and Shuri had both tried making them with me. They knew it wasnt easy.

Um, what exactly are all of you talking about?

Noa asked in confusion.

Right, Noa was the only one here who didnt know what cotton candy was

Noa-neechan, its cotton candy.

Cotton candy?

Its fluffy like a cloud and really sweet and delicious. Its a very strange candy.

Shuri, who couldnt read the atmosphere, explained it to her.

Noa looked at everyone after hearing about it.

Did everyone know about it?

s.h.i.+a and Fina both nodded.

Am I the only one who doesnt know about it?

Yeah, she was the only one, here at least.

Did you leave me out on purpose?

Of course not.

We really hadnt intended to It had just sort of happened that she was the only one who didnt know.

But Im the only one who doesnt know about it!

Noa looked at us dejectedly.

I would make some for you right now, so you can see and taste it for yourself, but the machine is at Mariks place, so

s.h.i.+as remark made Noa brood even more.

Its okay, Noa. I brought one with me.

Really?

I proceeded to take out the cotton candy machine from the Bear Box and made some cotton candy for Noa.

Authors Notes:

Only Noa didnt know about cotton candy. lol