Chapter 256 – Bear-san Fights Over Fina and Shuri

「It really looks like a cloud.」

After I whipped up some cotton candy for Noa, her mood improved.

「It’s melting in my mouth.」

I was glad to see Noa happily eating the cotton candy.

「How could you keep quiet about such a fascinating candy. Fina, Yuna-san, you are so mean.」

「I’m sorry…」

「Yeah, sorry. I let the orphanage kids try it once and they got tired of it quickly.」

Actually, Fina and Shuri had eaten it twice, but I decided it was better to keep quiet about that.

「You could have invited me, though…」

Noa looked slightly miffed.

「Still, it’s a really strange candy. It’s fluffy and melts in your mouth. It’s also very sweet and delicious.」

「Well, it’s entirely made of sugar, so that’s why.」

Shuri looked like she wanted to have some too, so I made some more for her and Fina. They both ate them happily.

「Onee-sama, aren’t you going to have some?」

「I’m good. To be honest, I can taste the sweetness just by looking at it.」

She must have eaten too much and now couldn’t even look at it anymore.

Cotton candy really wasn’t something to be eaten all the time. It only tasted good when indulged in every once in a while.

「If you serve this at the school festival, it will surely be a hit.」

「I think so, too.」

「But if that happens, then we won’t be able to look around the festival together, will we?」

「No, that won’t be a problem. My group will be taking turns running the stand, so we can take a stroll when I’m free.」

「Yay!」

Now that Noa’s mood had very much improved, our conversation about the upcoming school festival livened up. Suririna-san brought us some freshly brewed tea, and we spent the time leisurely chatting until Eleanora-san finally arrived.

「Mother!」

「Noa, you’re finally here! Yuna-chan, thank you for bringing her.」

「No problem. It was a fun trip.」

「Eleanora-sama, please pardon our intrusion.」

「Pardon our intrusion.」

Fina bowed and greeted Eleanora-san, to which Shuri quickly followed up.

「Fina-chan, Shuri-chan, welcome. Thank you for guiding me around the other day. I had a lot of fun, so I wanted to thank you by inviting you here.」

「Thank you very much for having us.」

「Thank you for having us.」

The two of them thanked her for the invitation.

「If I may ask, where will we be staying? Are we staying at Yuna-oneechan’s house?」

Fina suddenly remembered that possible issue and asked.

Since they were invited by Eleanora-san, it would stand to reason that they would be saying at her mansion. Still, Fina and Shuri probably wouldn’t be able to relax while staying in the home of a noble like Eleanora-san, so I didn’t mind if they wanted to crash at my place.

「You can decide, Fina. I don’t mind if you stay at my place.」

「Oh my, Yuna-chan. Are you trying to steal my guests?」

「I’m not trying anything. I’m just saying that they can sleep over at my place if they so prefer.」

「If so, there should be no problem if they wanted to stay at my home, either.」

「If the two of them are okay with that, I don’t mind.」

For some reason, what started as an innocent question transformed into a battle for Fina and Shuri. In my defense, I was concerned with how the girls would feel, having to stay at a noble’s home. As long as they were okay with it, I had no reason to object.

「I invited the two of them so I could thank them, so they should stay at my house, no?」

Saying that, Eleanora-san smiled widely as she drew closer to the two of them.

Fina managed to only mutter 「Um…」as she avoided looking at Eleanora-san’s eyes, while Shuri, who didn’t understand what was going on, simply tilted her head.

「Where do you two want to stay?」

「Even if you ask me that..」

Fina’s eyes shuffled back and forth between Eleanora-san and me. After panicking for a while for awhile, she turned to Shuri.

「Shuri, do you want to stay the night here in Eleanora-sama’s home or at Yuna-oneechan’s house?」

She decided to push the decision onto Shuri.

「Yuna-oneechan has a house here?」

「Yes. It’s a bear-shaped house, just like the one back home.」

「I wanna see it!」

Oh, the Bear House won this one.

「Shuri-chan, you should stay here at my place. I’m planning to serve a lot of different, delicious foods.」

It seemed that Eleanora-san refused to give up that easily and launched a counterattack to entice Shuri to her side.

「Okay, I wanna stay.」

Eleanora-san gave me a smirk as if she won a great battle.

「Then, I guess you’ll have to seperate from Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.」

「Hugging Bear-chan and Swaying Bear-chan!」

Shuri reacted strongly, again being drawn to my side.

「Yuna-chan, how could you use your bears like that. That’s unfair.」

Wasn’t she the one who began this, baiting Shuri with food? Still, I did feel bad for her with regards to her losing her guests, especially since she went through all the trouble to invite them here.

「I’m just kidding. How about they stay at your place for a bit, then stay at my house afterwards. How does that sound?」

I couldn’t tell if Fina’s heart could handle staying here for the whole duration…

Eleanora-san considered my proposal for a moment.

「I guess that can’t be helped. Okay, I’ll agree to that.」

We shook hands in agreement.

It was a bit late to say this now, but just what kind of match had this been? Fina did look a bit relieved now, so maybe it was a good thing?

「Oh right, before I forget… Mother, I have a request.」

「What is it?」

「I want to show Fina and Shuri around the castle. Can I?」

「The castle?」

「Shuri said she wanted to see the castle, so I want to take her there.」

Noa requested, her voice wavering a bit.

「Okay, you can do that.」

「Really?!」

「Yes. It should be fine as long as Yuna-chan is with you.」

「Yuna-san?」

Everyone looked at me.

「Oh, didn’t you know? Yuna-chan has a permit to enter the castle, so she can enter whenever she wants.」

「That thing isn’t limited to just me?」

I had assumed it would be a problem if I used it to bring someone in.

「It should be alright as long as you don’t bring some strange swordsman or magician inside. If you’re just bringing these cute girls along, there should be no problem. Also, if anything happens while they’re there, it will be your responsibility.」

Obviously, there was a world of difference between bringing along a suspicious magician or swordsman versus a few young girls. I could also agree that if anything happened while my guests were there, it would be my responsibility. That much was common sense. They would be my guests, after all.

「Okay, how about we go there tomorrow, then? I will make sure to get you in.」

「Really?」

「The three of you won’t cause any trouble, right?」

When I said that, Fina looked over at her sister with concern. She had already told Shuri not to cause any trouble, but she was still afraid that her sister might end up doing something inappropriate.

「It’ll be fine.」

I tried to relieve Fina’s concern.

「If you’re worried, I can come along as well.」

「What about your work?」

「I can take a short break. His Great Majesty is there as well.」

After pondering about it for a moment, I realized that it could become problematic if we encountered any nobles who decided to kick up a fuss, so I agreed to Eleanora-san joining us.

「Great, let’s have a welcome party tonight.」

Eleanora-san celebrated our arrival with a feast at her home, and we all stayed there for the night.

After a quick breakfast the following morning, we prepared to head out to the castle.

「I want to go too…」

Shia, who was wearing her uniform, looked at us enviously.

「Sadly, you have to go to the academy. Make sure you study properly. Also, don’t you need to prepare for the school festival?」

「Yes, I know, Mother. Okay, Noa, make sure you guide everyone properly in my stead.」

「Okay.」

Shia patted Noa on the head and left for the academy.

「Should we go then?」

「Yes, let’s go!」

Shuri replied energetically.

We passed through the capital, taking in the various sights, and soon arrived at the castle. Shuri had a big smile on her face as she looked up at it in awe.

「It’s so big…」

「You can’t be too noisy when we go inside, okay?」

「Okay!」

Fina grabbed onto Shuri’s hand tightly as if to make sure she wouldn’t wander off.

「Okay everyone, let’s go inside.」

Today’s teacher-in-charge of our field trip was Eleanora-san, and she led us in.

A soldier by the castle gates spotted us approaching.

「Eleanora-sama, Bear-dono, welcome.」

Bear-dono?

Suddenly, I made the connection. Even though I had received the permit to enter long ago, not once did I have to show it. That would mean he didn’t know me by name, but rather by the way I dressed.

Although, being called Bear-dono was a bit…

「These children are my acquaintances, so please let us pass.」

「Yes, of course. You may enter.」

The soldier straightened his back and stood aside.

As expected of someone of Eleanora-san’s status.

「Eleanora-sama, you’re so cool!」

「Really?」

Eleanora-san looked quite happy being praised by Shuri like that.

「Oh, I almost forgot. You don’t have to tell His Majesty that she is here, okay?」

Eleanora-san gave an order to the soldier while looking at me.

「But…」

The soldier looked at me conflicted.

He was probably supposed to report to His Majesty whenever I arrived, but Eleanora-san was stopping him from doing so. With conflicting orders from two superior authorities, he was lost on what to do.

「It’s fine, we’re just sightseeing the castle. If something happens, I’ll take responsibility for it.」

「I understand. I will not let His Majesty know.」

The soldier decided to follow Eleanora-san’s order in the end, it seemed.

Eleanora-san made the right call, though. Even if His Majesty received the report that I had arrived, I had no plans on visiting Princess Flora in her room today, so if he were to head over as usual, he would just be wasting his time, having no other choice but to sit there and wait for someone who wouldn’t even show up.

Oh, and His Majesty would then tell Flora-sama that I had come, so she would be waiting for me as well. If that happened, I would feel bad for her. It was best if they didn’t know I was here from the very beginning.

Author’s Notes:

Before she knew it, it became a fight over for the sisters. lol

And, in the end, nobody can win against Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. lol

Next chapter will be about sightseeing the castle, I guess?