Chapter 424 – Bear

424 Bear-san, Goes Out With Noa Part 1

[Yuna-san, where have you been!] Noa

While I was relaxing at home, Noa came over.

[You haven’t been home for the past few days, and whenever I asked the people at the store, they’ll just say you’re out with Fina. It’s not fair that she’s always the only one. I want to go out with you too.] Noa

After Shuri, even Noa said that to me.

But I want to relax right now.

[Yuna-san? Yuna-san!] Noa

Noa grabbed my body and shook me from side to side. I wish she would stop shaking me.

[So, where do you want to go?] Yuna

[The royal capital!] Noa

[Rejected!] Yuna

[U~u, Swaying Bear-chan, Hugging Bear-chan. Yuna-san is mean ~] Noa

Noa let go of my clothes, then hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in their cub-form, while flapping her feet on the couch.

[Don’t flap your legs so much, Noa, you’re a young lady, you know.] Yuna

[U~u, then please take me somewhere.] Noa

Noa puffed her cheeks.

I’d like to take her somewhere, but unlike Fina and Shuri, I can’t take the daughter of a nobleman around. Besides, I’d need Cliff’s permission.

Moreover, the bear gate is a secret and quite a complicated one at that.

[I’m going to go out for a bit, are you going to stay here, Noa?] Yuna

[Eh, you’re going somewhere? I’m coming too!] Noa

[I’m just going to buy some honey for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

[Eh~~~~] Noa

Noa and I held Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear in their cub form respectively and headed to a store that sold honey.

Noa, who’s walking next to me, puffed out her cheeks while carrying Hugging Bear.

[Look, I took you to the beach before, right?] Yuna

[But after that, you went out with Fina.] Noa

[Why don’t you ask Cliff to take you there instead?] Yuna

[I want to be with Yuna-san, Swaying Bear-chan, and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa

Noa hugged Hugging Bear tightly in her arms.

Hmmm, maybe a picnic outside the city would be okay?

=====

While I was thinking about this, we arrived at the store that sells honey.

[So this is where they’re selling honey.] Noa

When I entered the store, I saw Rem-san and the other shopkeepers. At that moment, Rem-san immediately noticed me.

[Bear Girl-chan. Another honey for the bears today.] Rem

[Yes, please.] Yuna

I pulled the empty jar out from the bear box and placed it on the counter.

[Thanks as always.] Yuna

[Don’t sweat it. It’s because I’m a big fan of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Rem

Sometimes, I come here to buy honey for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to eat. The honey Toya gave me the other day was already finished, so I had to replenish it.

[As always, your bears are adorable.] Rem

Rem-san pet the head of Swaying Bear that I am holding. Then, when he tried to pet Hugging Bear’s head, he noticed Noa who’s holding Hugging Bear.

[Etto. Are you Noire-sama, by any chance?] Rem

[It’s been a while.] Noa

Noa greeted him with Hugging Bear in her arms.

[Noa. You know Rem-san?] Yuna

[Yes. I saw him talking to father, and I said hello to him at that time.] Noa

As I recall, Cliff and Rem know each other from work, so it’s not surprising that Noa also knows him.

Rem-san looked at me and Noa who’re holding Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

[So, you two know each other?] Rem

[Yes. I’m indebted to Yuna-san. I came here today with Yuna-san to buy honey for Swaying Bear-chan and Hugging Bear-chan.] Noa

Just a moment ago, she was puffing out her cheeks in a <What, we’re just shopping?> kind of way, but she was polite and engaged in conversation. Is this the education of an aristocrat?

[Oh right, the honey.] Rem

Rem-san took the empty jar and placed it near a larger jar with the honey in it. He then poured the honey into the jar that I brought with me. Of course, if you bring your own jar, you can buy it at a discount.

[Here, this is for Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. It’s my treat.] Rem

Rem-san said and dripped honey on a plate and placed it in front of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

[Is it really okay for you to always do this?] Yuna

[This is only possible because of Bear Girl-chan and your bears.] Rem

Noa and I let go of Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, then they started licking the honey.

[Yuna-san, what did you do?] Noa

[I just defeated the monsters that settled in the bee tree a while ago.] Yuna

[You really saved me at that time.] Rem

[It’s my job. Don’t worry so much about it.] Yuna

[Oh, by the way, Bear Girl-chan. Are you free tomorrow?] Rem

[I don’t have any plans, but what about it?] Yuna

While I am an adventurer and I own stores, I don’t have any adventurer-related job right now, and Tirumina-san, Morin-san, and Anzu are in charge of the stores, so I don’t have to meddle with the operations. In fact, while I was in the city of Ludnik, I left the stores in their hands. Even if I’m not there, there’s basically no problem.

So, every day is Sunday for me. That doesn’t mean I’m a neat freak, though.

[In that case, why don’t you come with me tomorrow to pick some honey?] Rem

[Honey?] Yuna

[And I’m sure you wanted to see the bears there as well.] Rem

Since defeating the monsters that appeared in the bee tree, I went to see the bears several times. One of those times was when I went with Rem-san.

At that time, Rem-san recalled that I was happily touching the bear.

If he’s asking me out, does that mean he wanted to see the bears up close? Until then, he had only been watching from afar.

[Anou, what bears are you talking about?] Noa

[There’s a bear family near a tree that produces honey.] Yuna

[Isn’t that bear dangerous?] Noa

[No, they’re very gentle bears. If it’s a low-level monster, they can handle it. They’re the keeper of the bee tree.] Rem

Rem-san answered Noa’s question with bragging rights. Noa’s face gradually changes to Rem-san’s answer. I could predict the next words will be.

[I also want to see the bears.] Noa

The words came out just as I imagined they would.

[Etto, that’s…] Rem

It’s not me, but Rem-san who was troubled by Noa’s words.

That’s true though. We can’t take the daughter of a nobleman to a place with wild bears.

It would be a problem if she suddenly said that she wanted to go.

[Yuna-san…] Noa

Noa looked at me with a slightly sad expression.

I feel like I should take her somewhere. Certainly, I haven’t been paying attention to Noa since I went to the dwarven city.

[……Okay, I get it. But on one condition.] Yuna

[What’s the condition?] Noa

[Get Cliff’s permission. If Cliff says it’s okay, I’ll take you.] Yuna

As expected, I can’t take her out without permission, this is the so-called minimum requirement after all.

[M, my father’s…] Noa

[I can’t take you there without Cliff’s permission. And I’m going to check with Cliff before we leave, just in case. You can’t lie to me, you know.] Yuna

[Okay, I’ll definitely get father’s permission.] Noa

Noa clenched her small hands tightly.

After purchasing the honey, we left the store. Noa went home to ask Cliff for permission.

=====

The next day, I went to Noa’s house before my appointment with Rem-san. I wanted to make sure that Cliff gave his permission.

When I arrived at Noa’s house, a happy Noa was waiting for me.

[Yuna-san, I got permission from my father.] Noa

Noa replies with a big smile on her face.

I asked Cliff for confirmation.

[Ah, it’s fine.] Cliff

He told me as soon as our eyes met.

[Etto, did Noa tell you everything? We’re going to see the bears in the wild.] Yuna

[I know. You’re with her after all.] Cliff

[Certainly, but…] Yuna

[Then there’s no problem. After defeating so many monsters, there’s no need to panic over wild bears.] Cliff

[……]

[Also, Rem reported that they’re docile bears.] Cliff

[……]

[It will be a good learning experience for Noa to see the bee tree. I’d be worried if it was just Rem, but as long as you’re with them, there’s no problem.] Cliff

So, with Cliff’s permission, Noa and I met up with Rem-san and set off to see the bee tree and the bears.

=====

Rem-san rides in a carriage, I’m riding on Swaying Bear, and Noa is riding on Hugging Bear. Rem-san’s carriage has many large jars on it.

[Yuna-san. What kind of bears are they?] Noa

[They are a family of four with two cubs. The cubs were just born a few months ago, so they’re still pretty small, aren’t they?] Yuna

[U~u, I can’t wait to see it.] Noa

[But don’t forget to look at the bee tree.] Yuna

[Of course. If I don’t report to my father properly, he will be angry with me. And if that happened, he’ll make me spend all my time studying.] Noa

I guess that’s what you’d call aristocratic culture. They are well educated.

We come close to the forest. Rem-san’s carriage took a straight path and we followed behind it.

After a while, we came to a place where beautiful flowers were blooming all over the place.

[It’s beautiful.] Noa

[I’m glad to hear you say that.] Rem

Rem-san thanked Noa with a smile.

[Rem-san and his friends take care of these flowers so that they can produce delicious honey.] Yuna

[I’ve heard so much about it, but I never expected it to be this beautiful.] Noa

[Yes, it is. It’s beautiful indeed.] Yuna

It reminds me of the sight of flowers on the island of Targui. Are there no bee trees on Targui?

[Is that the bee tree?] Noa

Noa looks ahead to where the flowers are blooming. There is a large tree and many bees are flying around.

[That’s right. Don’t go near it, it’s dangerous.] Yuna

Unless you’re an expert like Rem-san, it’s not safe to go near it.

[Bear Girl-chan. Can I get some honey first before we meet the bears?] Rem

[I’ll help you then. Noa, you stay here and observe with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.] Yuna

[I understand. But please make it quick.] Noa

I put the empty jars on the wagon in the bear box.

Then go to the side of the bee tree and pull out the jar.

[Bear Girl-chan. Thanks, you’re a big help.] Rem

Rem-san put the honey into the jar so as not to anger the bees. Then he put the jar full of honey into the bear box. He repeated this process, and when all the jars were filled with honey, he went back to the carriage and placed them on the flatbed of the carriage.

[Thanks to you, Bear Girl-chan, I finished early. I think I just bought this jar yesterday, here take it with you.] Rem

Rem-san offered a jar of honey.

[Are you sure?] Yuna

[Of course, thanks for your help.] Rem

I got a small jar of honey.

When I looked at Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they were looking at the jar greedily.

[When we return.] Yuna

<<Ku~u ~ n>>

You don’t have to make a sad cry. Besides, you ate honey yesterday, didn’t you?

=====

Author’s Note:

It was supposed to be one story, but it didn’t.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen those wild bears.

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