Chapter 181: The Best Checks the Stuffed Animals

Chapter 181:
The Bear Checks the Stuffed Animals

 

WE STARTED tidying up the kitchen after baking our cake.

Right as we finished up, Sherry made her way into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes.

“Yuna, Fina, good morning.” She still looked groggy—probably because she’d just woken up—but she sure looked a lot better.

“Did you get some sleep?”

“Uh-huh. What are you two doing?”

“We were making cakes.”

Right when I mentioned the word cakes, Sherry perked up completely. What girl doesn’t love a nice, sweet cake?

“Want to have some?”

“Can I really?!”

Uh. Actually, could she eat so quickly after waking up? Sherry looked excited, at least, so she could probably eat. “But just one slice. The headmistress will be mad if you can’t eat your dinner.”

The two of them sat down and I pulled out a cake I’d made much earlier from my bear storage. The cakes Fina and I had just made were birthday presents for Misa, after all.

“Would you like tea with that?”

“Yes, please.”

I practiced making black tea the way Lala taught me. A lovely aroma drifted up from it. I poured the tea into cups and gently placed the cups in front of them. I didn’t forget the sugar, of course. With the cake and tea prepped, we all started to eat.

“Mmm, it’s so yummy,” Fina said.

“Yeah, sure is!” Sherry added.

The two of them happily chowed down. After we finished eating the cake, we moved onto the next order of business.

“Ready to show us the stuffed animals?” I asked.

“Uh-huh!” Sherry pulled the Kumayuru and Kumakyu stuffed animals from the large bag placed next to her and set them on the table.

“Th-they’re sooo cute!” Fina exclaimed.

She hugged the Kumayuru bear, and I grabbed the Kumakyu one.

“So these are the Kumayuru and Kumakyu teddy bears,” said Fina. “Just the cutest!”

“Thank you very much! Though this part right here was trouble…” Sherry started talking us through the challenging parts and how she handled them. She really did seem to like sewing and embroidery. “Actually, Yuna, did you say you wanted something?”

“Yeah, I was thinking you could teach us how to make these stuffed animals. A girl we know is having her birthday soon, so we wanted to make her presents. Fina and I were thinking of making them together.”

Just like Fina had wanted to do—I wanted to make sure I’d considered her feelings. It’d feel more like she was giving Misa a present if she made the stuffed animal herself, just like we’d made the cakes.

“But then what will happen to these stuffed animals?” Sherry asked.

“I’ll take these. They’ll be a present for another girl.” I was planning on giving the stuffed animals that Sherry made to Lady Flora.

Sherry watched me examine the Kumakyu teddy bear for a moment. “Y-Yuna, I wanted to ask for a favor...”

“What’s up?”

“Well...when I was making the stuffed animals at the orphanage, the little kids really wanted them. I told them no because these were yours, but they cried and... I ended up making a promise. I said I’d give them to the orphans. I’ll pay for the materials, of course, and I’ll make new ones right away. So, um...”

Sherry looked down, as if she’d run out of words. She was still just a kid, like the others.

“You can give the bears to them,” I said. “And don’t sweat paying me back.”

There wasn’t a rush for Lady Flora’s stuffed animals. And besides, I was planning to give stuffed animals to the orphans as presents from the start. This just set the schedule a little earlier on that part.

Still… “But Sherry, are you sure only two of them will be enough?”

Even if I gifted them to only the smallest kids in the orphanage, two didn’t seem like it’d be enough for everyone. If there was a tussle and they started pulling on the stuffed animals, the bears might end up dismembered or worse. That’d be awful for poor plushie Kumayuru and Kumakyu, and I’m sure Sherry would feel terrible.

“I’ll work really hard to make them!” she said at once.

I was kind of worried she’d give up sleep again to make them, though.

“Okay, but you have to sleep, okay?”

“Okay...”

Yeah, that still worried me. I made her promise not to start on them today, either. “Take a day off. I won’t be happy if I catch you sleep-deprived again tomorrow.”

“Okay...”

Tomorrow, Fina and I would take lessons on how to make stuffed animals from Sherry. I’d be sure to watch Sherry, too, to make sure she wasn’t pushing herself. If she made more stuffed animals in a single day, I’d give her a scolding.

Sherry put the stuffed animals into her giant bag and carried them home, just like she’d carried them here.

 

“Okay,” said Fina, “I’m going home too.”

“Looks like we’ll be making stuffed animals starting tomorrow.”

“Uh-huh.”

Right as Fina was about to head out, I remembered something. “Oh, right. Almost forgot. Fina, could you let Tiermina know that I went to the Merchant Guild to raise my rank?”

“Your rank went up, Yuna?!”

“Yeah, but only because Morin, Tiermina, and everyone at the orphanage were working so hard.”

Thanks to the orphans, we had eggs to sell to the Merchant Guild and for our own pudding and cake. Morin’s bread was also popular, of course, and Anz’s restaurant was thriving too. Most importantly, Tiermina was the one managing everything. She oversaw the distribution of the eggs, bought ingredients and adjusted prices—she even managed sales.

Yeah, Tiermina was the one who was running things for sure. Now that I thought about it…I’d be in hot water if she ever left her job.

“Fina,” I said seriously, “tell Tiermina never to quit.”

“Um, I don’t really understand. Do I just need to tell her exactly what you said?”

Puzzled by my sudden and cryptic message, Fina headed on home.

 

The next day, Fina and I headed to the tailor where Sherry worked. Once we got there, I greeted Nar and Temoka as they were getting ready to open shop.

“Morning. Is Sherry in?”

“She came early. She’s making stuffed animals inside.”

Hopefully, she slept first. After getting permission from Temoka, I headed to the back room where Sherry was making stuffed animals.

“Good morning, Sherry. Did you keep your promise and sleep?”

“Yes, I slept, but I woke up early. I came in when Temoka and Nar were eating breakfast.”

She flashed a smile. For a second, I worried that she was trying to sweep everything under the rug, but at least I didn’t see bags under her eyes. I guess she’d actually gotten some proper rest.

“Did the kids fight over them?”

“Almost,” Sherry said, grinning. “But after I told them we’d make enough for everyone, they stopped acting out.”

“They’re all such great kids,” I said.

“Uh-huh!” Sherry seemed to take my compliment like I was praising her own brothers and sisters.

“Well then, Sherry, could you please teach us how to make stuffed animals?”

“Please teach us, Sherry,” Fina added.

 

We sat down in chairs, and Sherry took on the role of teacher. We started making stuffed animals right away.

“Okay, please follow this pattern when you cut the cloth.”

 

Fina and I followed her instructions and cut the cloth according to the pattern paper. The template made them easy to make, but making the template itself must’ve been really difficult. I was impressed that Sherry had made it in a single day.

“Temoka helped me,” she explained.

Still, it was impressive.

I awkwardly made the stuffed animal. I didn’t have a bear sewing skill, so I was having a difficult time. On the other hand, Fina seemed like she knew what she was doing.

“Oh, um! We didn’t have money to buy clothes for a while, so I got good at sewing.”

Made sense. Her father had passed away and her mother was sick. I knew Gentz was watching over them, but he could’ve at least bought clothes for them.

 

After that, Fina and I set to work making a set of stuffed animals for Misa’s birthday party. Fina would give a Kumayuru to Misa as a present and I’d give her a Kumakyu.

Sherry made double the amount we did in the same amount of time, so we ended up with four total sets of bear pairs. I took the first bears Fina and I made to display in my room. The second set would be Misa’s present.

“Are you really sure I can have them?” I asked.

“Yeah. I think Kumayuru and Kumakyu should stay together.”

“Thank you.” I took the Kumakyu Fina made and put it next to the Kumayuru I made.

I guess we’d need to make a set for Fina next?

Sherry would give the stuffed animals she made to the orphans as presents. Apparently, most of the younger orphans had wanted them. Sherry said that the kids who’d cry a lot would stop once they were given a bear to hold, so it’d be easier to get them to sleep. I was glad to know the stuffed animals were serving a purpose.

To finish up the bears we’d use for Misa’s present, we tied pretty red ribbons on them.

“Aaaaaaand done,” I said.

“Uh-huh! I hope Lady Misa likes them,” Fina said.

After we gave them the ribbons as finishing touches, I put the bears away into my bear storage.

Sherry rested in the corner of the room, done with her work for the day.

“Thank you, Sherry,” I said.

“No need for that. I had fun too. How many more should I make?”

We’d need them for Lady Flora and the queen. And Noa would definitely want one. I also wanted to give them to Fina and Shuri as presents since I could tell that Fina wanted her own bears—she was eyeing them up right then. They’d make good thank-you presents too. I also wanted some extras. So if I tallied them up...

“Apart from the ones for the orphans, I guess I’d want about ten sets?”

“That many?!”

“But there’s no hurry. I’m going to be out for a while.”

After Misa’s birthday was over, I was planning on taking Lady Flora her stuffed animals.

“Also, no staying up late anymore,” I warned Sherry. “I’m going to tell Nar and Temoka that too.” I couldn’t have her losing sleep over this again.

“Okay,” she said firmly. “I’ll make sure to sleep and then work really hard.”

She…had understood what I was saying, right?