Chapter 77: The Bear Thinks of a Shop Name

Chapter 77:
The Bear Thinks of a Shop Name

 

PREP WORK FOR THE SHOP was nearly done with, but one problem still remained: we still didn’t have a name. When I tried asking Morin for advice, she told me that it was my shop, and I should be the one to decide.

All well and good, but…I was devastatingly bad at naming things. I even used my own real name in the game. I named my bear summons Kumayuru and Kumakyu because they were kuma—kuma as in, the Japanese word for bear. The bears seemed happy with their names, but they were magical bears and probably had their own takes on stuff. No, I had no confidence in my ability to name anything, and even after thinking over a shop name for several days…no ideas, head empty. And so I decided to ask everyone for their suggestions.

 

I gathered the shop manager, Morin, and her daughter, Karin; the store helpers from the orphanage; Milaine from the trade guild, who had helped with the remodeling; Helen, who helped me out at the adventurers’ guild; Tiermina and her daughters Fina and Shuri, who always gave me a hand; and Noa, who had returned from the capital—fourteen people in total.

Then, we went straight into it:

“The Bear’s Bakery.”

“The Bear Eatery.”

“The Bear’s Pizzeria.”

“The Bear and Pudding.”

“The Bear’s Restaurant.”

“The Bear with You.”

“The Bear’s…”

“The Bear…”

They came up with an unbearable deluge of ursine names.

“Okay, so…you all seem pretty fixated on putting bear in the name. Why?”

I pretty much knew why, but I asked anyway. Maybe they’d give me an unexpected answer.

“I mean…”

“Yuna…”

“Uhh…”

Everyone stared. All right, fine. It was my shop, hence the bear stuff. It still sounded a lot like a repeat of the Kumayuru and Kumakyu thing. I wasn’t going to tell them no, and I didn’t care that much. There were shops in my original world with “bear” in their names too. It just kinda bummed me out to hear everyone say it out loud.

“Well then,” Helen ventured, “how does ‘The Adventurer Yuna’s Shop’ sound?”

“Nope!” I cut her off. Somehow that sounded too bland. If we were heading in that direction, then “Morin’s Bakery” would work just as well.

When I told Morin so, she softly dismissed it saying, “This is your shop.”

“I think it’s got to have ‘bear’ in it,” said Karin.

Noa nodded. “Right. Because it is Yuna’s shop.”

Everyone nodded at Noa. It was settled that bear would be used in the name, and everyone started to contribute new ideas. Looks like I was stuck with “bear.” Maybe everyone else was just as bad at naming things as I was.

Bear? Check. But what about the rest of the name? No one could decide.

“Well, how about we decide on the store uniform first then?” Milaine blurted. “I’ve brainstormed some ideas.”

I blinked. “A uniform?”

“You need them to wear something while serving the customers.”

Just once, I remembered seeing some employees from a large shop in the capital wearing things that looked like apron dresses. It was a pretty cute look. Maybe maid and butler clothes would work in a fantasy world? I tried imagining the kids in them. Hmm.

I nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea—the uniforms.”

“Isn’t it? So, I made a set just to try it out,” Milaine pulled out a folded uniform from her item bag and spread it out.

“Is that a bear?”

“If it’s going to be your shop, Yuna, then of course it has to be a bear uniform.”

As Milaine said those dreaded words, she put the bear clothes out on display. Ugh. I wasn’t cosmically, literally a bear, and I really didn’t want that to just be my whole brand forever.

Milaine pivoted around until her eyes settled on one of the orphan girls. “Miru, won’t you try this on?” she asked the girl. Come on, though—no way that’d work. Even Miru wouldn’t wear such an embearrassing outfit.

“Ooo! Can I really?!”

But Miru seemed thrilled. No disgust, no horror on her face at all. In fact, some of the kids were looking at her with jealousy.

“You’re so lucky.”

“No faaaaair!”

“Ooo! Me next!”

But…but…! Argh! Miru looked ecstatic when she took the bear uniform and the other kids were green with envy. Maybe I was the odd one out?

I rubbed my temples. “You’re not embarrassed?”

“I’m not. I get to look just like you, Yuna. I’m so happy.”

The other kids nodded. Was this because of the whole “saving the orphanage” thing? They weren’t making me out to be a hero or something, right? Miru started changing at once, tossing off her clothes to get into the uniform.

“Miru, stop!” I said. She tilted her head at me. “Find a changing room or something.”

Milaine nodded. “That’s right. You’re getting too old for that sort of thing. Come with me.” Milaine stood up and led Miru into one of the back rooms. Miru was already twelve, so she really had to get her head on straight about that stuff. The boys might’ve been younger than her, but they were still boys, and they were getting older. Guess I’d need to designate some changing rooms.

After a while, Miru came back with the uniform on. It looked a lot like my bear onesie all the way down to the hood. There was even a little tail on her bum to complete the cutesy look. I guess it wasn’t really a uniform so much as a bear parka? Were they really going to wear that on the job?

“What do you think?” Miru looked delighted as she slowly rotated in place to show off the uniform. Why was she happy about this thing?

“It really does look great.”

“Eeeee! You’re so lucky.”

“Cuuuuuute.”

She was showered in praise from all directions. It really wasn’t bad. It was cute. But, I mean, come on. A bear uniform. I wanted to put a stop to it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say anything. It actually was adorable, after all.

Still, I felt like something was missing. I looked Miru up and down. Oh? Right—it looked off because Miru didn’t have shoes. When Milaine noticed me staring at Miru’s feet, Milaine reached into her item bag like she remembered something.

“Miru, try these on.”

She pulled out shoes that looked a lot like mine from out of her bag. They were both black to match the clothes, unlike the white-and-black of mine. Miru kicked off her shoes put on the ones from Milaine. She was bear from head-to-toe.

Tiermina laughed. “Oh my goodness, you even made them shoes!” The crowd gawked.

Milaine shook her head. “I had someone else make them. Nice, though, aren’t they?”

Miru’s little feet were bundled up in the shoes that looked an awful lot like mine. Jeez, I knew that Milaine was a go-getter, but this seemed a little extreme.

“Honestly,” Milaine continued, “I was also considering getting some gloves, but they’d probably get in the way of cooking and serving, so I just went with the shoes. Unless you’d like the gloves.” She gave me a hopeful look.

“I think we’re good on gloves.”

Milaine managed not to look too disappointed. “How do they feel, Miru?”

“Really nice!” Miru was practically skipping around the shop in her bear shoes.

I sighed. “Are they really going to work while wearing those?”

“As long as you give your permission,” Milaine said.

“Yuna, I want to wear them,” Miru begged me. “Pleaaaaaaase?” Hmm. Well, it wasn’t like I was wearing them. (Wait, I was wearing bear stuff, wasn’t I? Dangit.)

“If you’re all okay with it,” I said, “then I guess it’s fine.” As long as the kids were happy, then whatever. It wasn’t like anybody was making them wear the goofy things.

“I’m okay with it,” one of the boys said.

“I am too,” said another.

“Me too!”

Hold up, the boys too? This would be mortifying when they looked back on it later. Well, no taking it back, boys.

“Looks like we’re going with the bear uniform,” Milaine practically sang the words.

“Wait a moment,” said Karin slowly. “Does that mean I need to wear that?” She was quiet, but now she was pointing at Miru’s uniform.

Right. The kids weren’t the only workers. If Karin was also be minding the shop, she would have to wear the uniform on the job too.

“It’s cute on the kids, but I’m not sure the same would be true for me…”

Karin was seventeen, wasn’t she? If this were Japan, she’d be a second year in high school. Guess this outfit would be embarrassing at that age.

“I think it would look lovely on you, Karin.”

“But Ms. Milaine, you wouldn’t wear this yourself, would you?”

“Well, I’m in my twenties, so that wouldn’t do. But I think you’re the right age to pull it off. It’d look great on you—enjoy wearing these things while you can!”

“There is no way I can serve customers in that embarrassing outfit!”

Wow. I had to keep this “embarrassing outfit” on all the time because I’d lose my powers, if I didn’t. And I didn’t just have to serve customers in this—I defeated baddies, slayed monsters, gone to the capital, and even met the king all while dressed as a bear.

“Since I’ll be baking bread with my mom, in the kitchen, could I be excused from wearing that?”

“The kids couldn’t possibly serve customers without supervision,” I said. “And aren’t you supposed to be in charge of the floor, Karin?”

We discussed that already. Morin would be in charge of the kitchen, while Karin would manage the front and give instructions to the kids.

“But…” Karin glanced desperately at us.

“Pff. Heh. Bwahahahah!” And Milaine burst out laughing.

Karin blinked. “Ms. Milaine?”

“This was just for the kids. If you did want to wear it though, I could arrange for that.”

“Ugh, I’d rather die.”

That seemed like a bit much.

“But,” said Milaine, “I wonder if I could interest you in a bear cap?”

Anyway, Karin seemed relieved after realizing she wouldn’t have to wear the uniform and Milaine seemed delighted by the sight of Miru’s bearish appearance. “Thanks so much for modeling, Miru.”

When I asked how much the uniforms would cost, Milaine told me she was covering it, but I really couldn’t let her do that. Plus, I’d probably need some spares, so we worked out that I would pay for the extras.

“But what are you naming the shop?” Fina asked, taking us back to the main subject. After a long, extended discussion, we settled on one.

“Bear’s Lounge.” There we go. Nice, warm, and relaxing. Grab some pizza and hibernate a little, why don’t ya?