Extra Story: The Palace Gate Guard Encounters the Bear

Extra Story:
The Palace Gate Guard Encounters the Bear

 

IT’S BEEN OVER A YEAR since I started working as a gate guard at the castle.

It is our duty as gate guards to keep suspicious persons at bay. Many people come to the castle on a daily basis. Those who worked at the castle, those bringing in ingredients, those coming for consultations, and the envoys of each guild…people of all colors and stripes make their way to the castle. It is our duty to prevent any fishy characters from entering.

 

Lately, a girl wearing a bear outfit had begun to enter and leave the castle.

When one thinks of bears, a frightening image comes to mind, but this girl’s getup was a rather charming version of that beast.

Lady Ellelaura had brought her in when I saw her for the first time. There was a child with them as well. The next time, she was with the Adventurers’ Guild master. The time after that, she appeared with Lady Ellelaura just as we were bustling on the day of His Majesty’s birthday festival. Lady Ellelaura and the Adventurers’ Guild master are both quite powerful people. I could hardly understand what kind of person this girl must’ve been if she was coming to the castle with those two individuals. I thought she was Lady Ellelaura’s daughter, but that didn’t seem to be the case based on their conversations.

She had become something of a talking point among the guards. Who was this mystery bear? But we could not ask Lady Ellelaura or the Adventurers’ Guild master, so she was still shrouded in mystery even now.

 

The final day of the birthday festival, just as I finished my work of closing the castle gate, all the gate guards—including the off-duty ones—were gathered. We worked in shifts. We would guard at the gate, train, patrol the town, and so on according to a rotating schedule. As a rule, we would do this in pairs.

Once a month, we would all gather for reports…but it wasn’t the day for that.

There was a different air in the room from usual as all of us gathered in that room, save for the guards currently guarding the gate. Why? Well, we had an unusual guest.

“Hey, what’s Lady Ellelaura doing here?” Beside me, Roymond spoke in a whisper.

Yes, Lady Ellelaura was right in front of us. But I had no answer for him, so there was no point in him asking. Though Lady Ellelaura did show up for inspections, she usually wouldn’t attend gatherings like this. The normally lively room went silent from Lady Ellelaura’s presence. It seemed like everyone believed that there was something important happening.

“Looks like all of you’ve gathered,” said our commanding officer, standing beside Lady Ellelaura.

“Thanks to all of you, His Majesty’s birthday festival ended without incident. I’ll thank you for that,” our captain said. It really was an ordeal. There was a report at short notice that a ton of monsters had shown up, which caused an uproar. The Adventurers’ Guild had gone out in force to slay them, and then things got confusing.

According to rumors, the monster report was…false? There was also a rumor going around that an A-Rank adventurer had slain them. Though it was resolved right away, nerves ran high.

If it weren’t for that, His Majesty’s birthday festival would’ve concluded without incident.

“So, we have received a direct order from His Majesty.”

We all tensed up. That kind of thing rarely happened. Never happened, really. Since His Majesty was issuing a direct order right after the birthday festival, the whole room stirred. Had something happened?

“Is that why Lady Ellelaura is here, then?” Roymond whispered.

Maybe that was the case. Lady Ellelaura did work directly for His Majesty. Perhaps it was that important.

“Keep quiet,” our captain snapped. “Lady Ellelaura will inform you of the details.” He took a step back, and Lady Ellelaura stepped forward.

We all looked at her. What she said next was unbelievable. I was sure everyone else felt the same as me.

I mean, her words were…they were…

“If a girl in a bear outfit comes to the castle, let her in.”

“If a girl in a bear outfit comes to the castle, treat her like an honored guest.”

By “a girl in a bear outfit” did she mean that girl? I’d seen that bear girl before, but… if that girl in a bear outfit came to the castle, we were just supposed to let her in then?

And the last thing that Lady Ellelaura said was the most unbelievable part of all:

“If a girl in a bear outfit comes to the castle, inform His Majesty.”

We were supposed to inform His Majesty over some girl? I didn’t understand anymore. Who was this girl in the bear outfit?

“Oh, and please let me know as well. This part isn’t an order from His Majesty. It’s a personal request from me,” Lady Ellelaura said with the sweetest smile. Though a charming woman, Lady Ellelaura was also frightening. One did not simply upset Lady Ellelaura.

“Um, who is that girl in the bear outfit? Is she a noble’s daughter?”

Someone finally asked the question on all our minds. He sure was a brave one.

Lady Ellelaura narrowed her eyes at that question. Had her mood soured slightly? She probably hadn’t thought anyone would dare question her. “What does it matter to you who the girl in the bear outfit is? What were you planning on doing after asking for that information, hmm?”

Lady Ellelaura smiled. Her eyes remained cold.

“Nothing at all, ma’am.” The man who asked lowered his head.

“Then there’s no issue.”

Which meant that we weren’t supposed to ask questions about the girl in the bear outfit.

All we needed to know was that she had some sort of relation to His Majesty. It was best not to probe any further. We would simply follow orders.

“Also, never laugh at her outfit. And under no circumstances ask her about the outfit. You are not to make her feel uncomfortable.”

I swallowed the saliva that collected in my mouth. This seemed like it would become a big deal.

 

That night, I went out drinking with my buddies after work.

“So that girl in the bear outfit, huh? Wonder what she’s actually dressed like. Can’t imagine it myself.”

“Right. You haven’t seen her then, Roymond.”

“What? You’ve seen her before?”

“Yeah, when I was on duty.”

“What’s she like?”

“Right, she had this adorable bear outfit on.”

“An abominable bear outfit? Oh, man…”

He said adorable, but I couldn’t blame the guy for thinking he said something else. I guess pretty much anybody would imagine a real bear if they were told someone was dressed like one. Of course he’d think of something frightening.

“No, it’s kind of more...fluffy and warm-lookin’? Like…a stuffed animal,” I said. “And she’s got a sweet little face, this girl, so it looked even more charming. You’ll get it once you get a look at her.”

Roymond looked at me like I was speaking gibberish. If I hadn’t seen the bear girl myself, I’d probably be making that same exact face.

 

I was working at the castle gate today, and I’d nearly forgotten about the royal order from Lady Ellelaura when I saw the girl in the bear outfit walking on over.

“Who is that girl in the bear getup?” asked my partner, Lok.

“That’s the girl in the bear outfit that Lady Ellelaura talked about.”

Which meant we had to quickly inform His Majesty, but…who was going to inform him? We never figured that part out. But now one of us needed to receive her while the other informed His Majesty.

Lok called out to the girl in the bear outfit. The girl asked Lok whether she was allowed in, because His Majesty had given her permission to enter.

Lok checked her card and politely gave her permission to enter. Then he…looked at me? Hold on, was I supposed to be the one going?!

I wanted to chew Lok out, but I held that back and ran to His Majesty. Duty called, and I needed to inform him as quickly as possible. I ran from the gate toward the castle. It was a long distance from the gate, then an even longer distance down through the halls.

His Majesty’s office was high in the central tower. It was rare for a gate guard like me to make it all this way.

Finally, I got to the front of the door where His Majesty was working, which meant…which…

I’d gotten all this way, but I had no idea what to do now.

A guard was stationed in front of the door to prevent any suspicious characters from getting through the door.

“Who goes there?” The guard gave me a suspicious look. I suppose I was suspicious, considering I ran all the way up and was currently totally out of breath. The soldier steeled himself as he watched me.

“Please tell His Majesty that a girl in a bear outfit has arrived,” I said. And wouldn’t you know it, the guard seemed to understand.

“Understood,” said the guard. Then he knocked on the door and informed His Majesty of the girl in the bear outfit.

My work was done, then. I started to return to the gate, but then I remembered something else: I needed to inform Lady Ellelaura.

Wait, where was Lady Ellelaura?!

I dashed off to the place where I thought I might find her…

 

Once I successfully informed Lady Ellelaura, I headed back to the gate.

“Nice work.”

“Yeah, I never thought that I’d actually go up to His Majesty to tell him that a girl in a bear outfit arrived.”

But I had, and we’d keep on doing that. We would end up running all the way to His Majesty whenever the girl in the bear outfit showed up.

The biggest issue was figuring out where Lady Ellelaura was. She would appear in all sorts of places; she gave us more trouble than His Majesty!