Chapter 663

T/N: Hi, sorry to make you all worried. I have exams soon, but I will try my best to ensure that chapters are released on time. Thanks for reading.

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Bear-san Celebrates with Fina Part 2

Zeref-san and Shaila entered the kitchen, and we took our seats.

“Zeref-san is really the head chef of the palace, right?” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san asked, as if to confirm.

“Yes, he is the one in charge of cooking for His Majesty the King and the royal family.” (Ellelaura)

“How could such a person cook for Fina’s celebration?” (Tirumina)

“As I said before, Zeref is indebted to Yuna-chan, and Fina-chan met him at Misana’s birthday party, and you gave him a tour when we went to Crimonia. So he likes Fina-chan as well.” (Ellelaura)

That being said, Fina was also acquainted with Zeref-san.

“That’s going to further increase my daughter’s interaction with high ranking people she wouldn’t normally be associated with.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san looked a little uneasy.

“I’m sorry.” (Fina)

“It’s nothing to apologize for. I was just thinking that normally, Fina could never have gotten involved with Noire-sama, Misana-sama, Ellelaura-sama, Cliff-sama, or even Zeref-san. So I was just a little overwhelmed by it.” (Tirumina)

The other parties were all people in the higher social ranks.

From a mother’s point of view, she might be right to be worried.

“Mom… I’ll make sure we don’t get in trouble.” (Fina)

“Oh dear, don’t say such things and don’t distance yourself from Noa and Misana. You’ll only make them sad if you do that.” (Tirumina)

“Yes. If you two don’t mind, I would like to remain friends.” (Ellelaura)

“I’m sure the two of them will be happy to hear that.” (Shia)

In manga and novels, normally the stories would portray that it would be difficult for a noble and a commoner to become friends. But this world was neither a manga nor a novel, and I hoped the three of them would remain friends forever.

“Right. You should treasure your friends. The friends you make as a child are important. They will be your friends for life.” (Tirumina)

“Yeah, okay.” (Fina)

Friends… childhood friends, my heart hurts. You could grow up without them, just like I did. I didn’t miss not having any at all. Really…

“By the way, Yuna-chan, I heard you came to the castle today.” (Ellelaura) 𝘭𝑖𝑏𝘳ℯ𝑎𝑑.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Ellelaura-san asked as I was feeling emotionally damaged.

“Sanya-san informed me that the King wanted to see me about the monsters, so I went there.” (Yuna)

“Just as I expected, it was about the matter with the event.” (Ellelaura)

She had an inkling of what it was about.

“Surprisingly, you didn’t show up, Ellelaura-san.” (Yuna)

When I went to the castle, there was usually a high probability that Ellelaura-san would show up.

Mainly to get the food I brought.

“That’s because I’ve been out and about for the past two days, ski… I mean inspecting that event.” (Ellelaura)

She almost said ‘skipping’ just now.

I knew it. She was skipping work in the name of inspection.

“So I had a bunch of work that needed to be taken care of.” (Ellelaura)

But I think it was great to see that she properly took care of her own work, instead of forcing it on someone else.

“Can you also tell us why the King invited you, Yuna-chan?” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san, who was listening to the conversation, asked me.

I simply explained the reason for which the King had summoned me.

“Magic Stones. It’s true that a magic stone of such a big monster is not so easy to get.” (Tirumina)

“So, as I mentioned before, he simply told me that if I wanted to get rid of Scorpion materials in the future, I should sell it to the King, though I did forget about it at some point in the past.” (Yuna)

“Yuna-chan…” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san looked at me in disbelief.

“Well, and following the conversation, he simply asked where I was planning to use the Magic Stone.” (Yuna)

“Eh, is it really alright? The King, he wanted the Magic Stone, right? And you turned him down.” (Tirumina)

Tirumina-san looked a little worried.

“Don’t worry, he only asked me to sell it to him when I required money so he could secure it, and he is not forcing me to sell it to him because he wants it.” (Yuna)

“No, no matter how you say it, it sounds like they want you to sell the Magic Stones only to them. Could it be that soldiers and knights will suddenly come to Yuna-chan’s house and Yuna-chan will be arrested?” (Tirumina)

She had quite the imagination.

But I would have thought the same thing if I had never met the King of this country.

Royalty and nobility with power always included people who wanted to fatten their own pockets. But contrarily, it was also true that there were good leaders among them.

The history of the world speaks of that.

I think the current King of this country was a good national leader, and I think Cliff was a good lord, as well.

“Yuna Nee-chan, are you going to get caught?” (Shuri)

Shuri, who was listening to Tirumina-san, asked worriedly.

No, I wouldn’t get caught.

“Don’t worry. He is just an uncle who likes good food, he won’t do anything bad.” (Yuna) 𝒍𝒊𝙗𝓻𝒆𝓪𝙙.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Tirumina-san sighed at my words.

“Only Yuna-chan would call the King just an uncle.” (Tirumina)

No, I think everyone would think so if they actually knew the King in person, and most of the people who knew about it simply just didn’t mention it.

“Fufufu, Tirumina-san, don’t worry too much. If the King was the kind of person who would do what Tirumina-san imagined, he would only be seen as an incompetent King.” (Ellelaura)

“Ellelaura-sama…” (Tirumina)

“As it stands, there is no merit in doing something that Yuna-chan doesn’t like, for it would only be a bad thing. In the first place, the King has given an order to make sure Yuna-chan doesn’t leave the country, so I don’t expect the King himself to do something that would cause Yuna-chan to leave.” (Ellelaura)

“What’s that?” (Yuna)

This is the first I’ve heard of that.

“A decree to prevent talented people from going to other countries? A directive? Something like that. I don’t have all the details.” (Ellelaura)

“You mean I can’t leave this country?” (Yuna)

“That’s not what I mean. You are free to go anywhere you want. It’s just that you can’t abandon this country and go ‘serve’ another one.” (Ellelaura)

“Why?” (Yuna)

Wasn’t I given the freedom to live wherever I wanted?

“This is not limited to Yuna-chan. It is normal for a country to want to secure the best and the brightest. Those who run the economy, the knights and wizards who protect the country. There are many talented people running the country in various places.” (Ellelaura)

I understand that a wide variety of people ran the economy and protected the country from monsters in places I did not know about.

“The same is true for the development of magical tools, for example. Ordinary people can’t develop magic tools on their own. By having people who are excellent in their field research and create new magical tools, society has been able to develop.” (Ellelaura)

“I see.” (Fina)

Fina muttered as if impressed.

“In the past, magic lines were not yet developed, so people had to use magic stones to activate magic tools directly. But now, just by touching a far away magic stone, you can activate a magic tool connected to a magic line from a different location.” (Ellelaura)

“Yes.” (Yuna)

If someone with information went to another country and was headhunted, it would lead to information leaks. If it were a knight, it would be an asset to the war effort. When someone with some talent disappears from the country, that country would fall behind in that field.

It was the same in Japan, where many people work for foreign companies that offer high salaries.

This would be a problem regardless of what world you live in.

“What do you think would happen if there were no more talented knights, wizards, and adventurers in the country?” (Ellelaura)

“If monsters attack the country, we may perish because we have no way to fight them.” (Yuna)

“That’s the point. That’s why the state has to secure the best and brightest and offer them the most benefits to make them stay and remain.” (Ellelaura)

“That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?” (Yuna)

“It is the job of the state and the lords to manage that.” (Ellelaura)

Managing the country, while important, was also a lot of work.

“But why am I included in that?” (Yuna)

“That’s obvious. There is no way that His Majesty the King would let go of someone with enough talent to defeat gigantic monsters single-handedly, hordes of monsters, and can even cook delicious food to boot.” (Ellelaura)

Thinking about it from the country’s standpoint, it made sense, but I didn’t know if I would be convinced.

“But I’ve never been informed of such a directive or proposal.” (Yuna)

“That’s because Yuna-chan might leave if you knew about it, especially if you think we are forcing you to stay. And even if we try to stop you by force, it will probably be our side who will suffer the consequences. So rather than convincing you to stay, the King decided to just let you be as long as you feel like continuing to stay in this country.” (Ellelaura)

“Certainly, I will prefer that.” (Yuna)

I didn’t want to be ordered to do a job like a slave after all.

“That’s why His Majesty is doing his best to ensure that Yuna-chan wants to continue living in this country. His Majesty actually wants Yuna-chan to live in the royal capital. And if possible, he wants you to serve the country. But you have never expressed the desire to do so.” (Ellelaura)

“I see.” (Yuna)

I was never asked nor would I want to be told.

“Well, after meeting Yuna-chan for a while, we have reason to believe that if we said such a thing, you would likely leave the country. So, I want Yuna-chan to live freely in this country. You can tell me, His Majesty the King, or Cliff if you are dissatisfied with anything. We will do everything we can to make things better.” (Ellelaura)

“Don’t worry. I have no complaints at the moment.” (Yuna)

“That’s good to hear.” (Ellelaura)

So, there was a reason for all the shenanigans that had occurred.

It was only natural for a superior to want to be surrounded by powerful people. Even in the Warring States period, the stability of the country and its protection depended on how many capable military and civilian officials were secured.

Well, I only appeared to be excellent because of my Bear Equipment that God gave me and my knowledge from my original world. So, I never considered myself worthy of such a station.

Now that I think about it, the King knew I had defeated the Kraken and the giant Scorpion. He would consider those threats to the country. And yet, he allowed me to act freely, and even inside the castle. This would not be possible under normal circumstances.

Perhaps my freedom was also being protected in ways that I was unaware of.

While we were having this conversation, the food arrived.

Tirumina-san was surprised, Shuri was happy, and Fina thanked Shaila every time she brought the dishes.

Shaila, being Shaila, wanted to say that her cooking skills had improved, and reported that she had helped with several of the dishes presented.

And the dishes on the table were all dishes that one would not be able to eat in a regular restaurant.

It was the kind of food you see in manga, where various exotic food was served at a noble’s party.

Ellelaura-san and Zeref-san told us to eat without worrying about manners. We took them at their word and ate without worrying about table manners.

At first, Fina and Shuri ate with no concern for dining ettique, but when they saw Shia eating with noble manners, they started to imitate her.

At first, Shia was embarrassed to see them imitating her, but she seemed to be satisfied and showed them an example, saying, “This is how you dine,” and taught Fina and Shuri noble manners in eating.

It would be good to remember this etiquette, as it may be necessary for Fina’s continued relationship with Noa and Misa in the future.

As for me? I had no intention of attending such a party hosted by royalty or nobility, so there was no need for me to do so.

Not only that, but I also wanted to avoid learning it, because it would be too much trouble just listening to how to hold the knife, how to put it down, and the order in which to use it.

And at the end of the meal, a pudding with fruit parfait on top was served.

When I tried it, it tasted better than the one I made.

Perhaps Zeref-san did his own research and made something tastier and more pleasing to everyone.

As expected of an actual chef.

Zeref-san looked satisfied as he watched us enjoy the food.

All of Zeref-san’s dishes were delicious, and by the time we finished eating them, everyone had a smile on their faces.

I couldn’t eat anymore.

I was too full.

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