Extra Story: Nerin and Elena Part One

Extra Story:
Nerin and Elena Part One

 

ONCE I GOT TO CRIMONIA, the days flew by in a busy haze.

I was going to be working at the bakery, so I learned how to bake cakes. I’d also consult Yuna to think up new cake ideas. And of course, Auntie Morin taught me how to bake breads. I was out of my element at first about a lot of things, but the days passed pleasantly. I was scared about work, but Auntie Morin was kind. Whenever I was in trouble, Karin helped me. There were also the orphans I worked with, too—it was a cheery place to work.

Auntie Morin managed the shop, but Tiermina handled anything that had to do with money. Stocking up, figuring out the seasonal ingredients, the rising prices, and how much to pay for ingredients—it was all just part of Tiermina’s job. If we lacked anything, she helped us at once. She was always organized, too. Auntie Morin said it was a huge help, because that way we could focus on baking the bread.

She also already figured out the ingredients I needed for the cakes, so I could just focus on baking them. It would’ve been an ordeal if I needed to stock up on the ingredients all by myself; I really needed to be grateful to Tiermina.

What surprised me most of all about this shop now that I worked here was Yuna, the one dressed up as a bear. She’s the owner of my workplace, the Bear’s Lounge. She also managed another store run by Anz, who came from Mileela. Apparently, Yuna hadn’t just thought up the cakes she had taught me to make. She also made something called pizza using an ingredient called cheese, and she made a food called pudding. She also made this delicious snack, this thing called potato chips. She was a genius chef, but she told me she didn’t run shops herself. According to her, it was a “pain.”

Yuna was the head of the shops, but she barely ever gave her opinion about anything. Sometimes she even asked Auntie Morin to make breads because she wanted to eat them.

 

Every week, the shop was open for six days followed by a one-day break. That was so everyone could refresh and work well in the following six days—Yuna said we wouldn’t be as efficient if we worked too hard. The exhaustion would add up and we would just get slower at our work, according to her. “You’ll be more efficient with a break, and happier too,” she told us. She was right. I was happier with a break. If we were working shifts, I would’ve been worried about the shop. But since we were all taking a day off, I wouldn’t need to worry. That also meant I could go out with Auntie Morin and Karin.

 

Since we had the day off today, I made plans to go out with Elena—I’d met her back at the inn. She was the innkeeper’s daughter, and she really helped me out when I first got to Crimonia. I was a little older than her, and she sometimes stopped by the shop to get to know me better.

“Elena, thank you for taking the day off at the same time as me.”

“It’s fine. You already have an established day off at the Bear’s Lounge,” she said. “I just asked my mom and dad ahead of time.”

“But the inn is really busy, isn’t it?”

Apparently, a big tunnel was made recently (or discovered?) and the people of Crimonia could now easily visit a town that they previously had to cross the mountains to reach. There was a lot of traffic back and forth, so the inn was pretty hopping these days. I was just lucky when I first came here and managed to get a room. I wanted to go to that town someday.

“It’s busier than I ever imagined,” said Elena. “We’re really happy about it, but we have to do the washing and cleaning every day. Also, I have to help with the cooking. There’s just so much to do.”

So I wasn’t the only one who was busy. “I’m surprised they let you have the day off.”

“We recently hired someone, so things are a little easier now.”

Elena and I walked around town, talking.

 

“That clothing shop sells cute clothes,” Elena told me when we got to the front of an establishment. “Definitely recommended.”

“They don’t have bear clothes there, right?” Like Yuna’s, maybe?

Elena just laughed. “No, they don’t.”

Where in the world had Yuna bought those things? Maybe she made them herself?

 

We went into the shop to look at the clothes. After browsing a bit, we went to a general store that sold cute accessories. Then we went to a delicious food stand, followed by a queer bookseller with stacks and stacks of books, to a rest area Elena recommended, and next to the Merchant Guild. Then, for some reason, she led me to the Adventurers’ Guild.

I was pretty sure that Fina and Shuri’s dad worked at that Adventurers’ Guild. They were both Tiermina’s daughters. Fina was the one I met with Yuna at the capital. She was quite serious and usually hung out around Yuna. Shuri was Fina’s little sister. The two of them were usually with Tiermina. I only met their dad once. Since he worked at the Adventurers’ Guild, he was very burly. Despite his looks, though, he was a nice person.

“Maybe we can peek inside for a little,” I said. I always imagined the Adventurers’ Guild would be full of frightening people, but a lot of them had stopped by the shop already. Whenever I saw the female adventurers eating the cakes I made, it made me happy. Even they enjoyed a sweet treat now and then. The guy adventurers showed up, too, usually savoring the bread and pizza.

There were female adventurers around here and a reception lady there too. I guess it would be safe to go inside?

Elena pulled me into the Adventurers’ Guild.

There were tons of adventurers with armor and swords. I felt like I stuck out. There were lots of frightening people, too. When one of them saw us, he started talking to us.

“Ah, is that Elena from the inn? What are you doing at the Adventurers’ Guild?”

“I was just out on a little walk.” Elena was striking up a perfectly normal conversation with the man, even though he looked terrifying.

“Did you come all the way here in search of some handsome men?”

Another male adventurer came by, dressed much the same as the first. “In that case,” he said, “she definitely didn’t come here for you. Must’ve been looking for me.”

“You should both take a good gander in the mirror,” said a third.

“Oh, so sure that they’ve even got good enough eyesight to tell in the first place?”

The adventurers who were listening in burst into loud laughter. The man scowled when his colleagues laughed right in front of him.

“That’s not true. I’m cool, aren’t I? You think so, don’t you, lass?”

The adventurer closed in on me.

“Uh. Hm...” I was scared. I took a step back.

“Then how about we go out tonight? I’ll show you how great of a guy I really am, eh?”

He came even closer.

“Um.” I looked at Elena, pleading with her to save me.

“Get back. You’re scaring Nerin.” Elena stood in front of me, coming to my rescue. “And you can’t just go scaring girls like that. You’ll cause yourself a lot of trouble that way.” She was implying something, but what?

“Trouble? Like what?”

“She’s Nerin. As in, the girl working at the Bear’s Lounge.”

At that, the adventurers stopped in their tracks.

“You mean that shop the bear girl runs?”

“No way.”

The men slowly backed away from me.

Um, what? One mention of Yuna’s shop, and they all changed their tunes. They seemed panicked, hardly believing what was happening.

“Miss...” said one of them. “Are you working at that shop run by the bear girl?”

“Yes, Yuna employed me there.”

When I answered, the adventurers gave each other looks.

“Please pretend nothing happened today,” said the rough guy at last. “I never talked to you. And if you do tell her that I talked to you, please don’t tell her I hit on you. Just…please just don’t tell the bear girl about what happened today.”

“Hey, I didn’t do nothin’!”

The adventurers were practically running away from me. What in the world just happened?

“Ha ha! Looks like none of them want to invite Yuna’s wrath.”

“Yuna? Wrath?”

Elena nodded. “I don’t think any adventurers in this town would pick a fight with her. And there’d be hell to pay if they made Yuna mad. Honestly, just not being able to eat at the shops would be trouble enough for them.”

She smiled, pulled on my hand, and led us out of the guild.

Just who was Yuna really? Even the big male adventurers were afraid of her. But she looked like a girl in a cute bear outfit…right? Auntie Morin had said that Yuna was an adventurer. Maybe that was true after all? But…she was an adventurer who made grown men shake in their boots?

“Is Yuna really an adventurer?” I asked. “Auntie Morin, Karin, and the other kids kept saying she was an amazing adventurer, but she seems like such a cute little girl. It’s unbelievable.” Fina, Shuri, and Tiermina…they all said the same thing.

“She is. And she’s a really powerful one.”

“It really wasn’t a joke, then?”

Elena laughed. “It’s tough to imagine because of her cute outfit, isn’t it?” Was she really fighting off monsters in that cute getup? I couldn’t even imagine it. “Yes, Yuna is a great adventurer in her own right. There are lots of legends about the bear. I didn’t believe them either at first, so I understand how you feel.”

Legends...about the bear? “What legends?”

Elena smiled. Then she put on airs and said, “Oh, what will I do with you?”

“Tell me already.”

And Elena told me all kinds of things.

Yuna had apparently invaded the Adventurers’ Guild and fought off nearly a dozen adventurers. She’d fought against monsters dozens of meters long. Every single thing she told me was unbelievable.

I just…couldn’t imagine it.

Yuna really was a girl of many mysteries. The more I learned, the more of an enigma she became.