Chapter 56: The Bear Gets in a Fight with Noa’s Older Sister

Chapter 56:
The Bear Gets in a Fight with
Noa’s Older Sister

 

“WELL, YUNA, FINA, let’s head inside,” Noa said, leading us through the front doors.

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We head the sound of running footsteps coming from somewhere.

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The footsteps were approaching us steadily from behind. Right as I turned around to face them, a blonde girl charged toward us.

“Nooo-aaaah!”

“Mother!”

“Noa, I’ve missed you!” The woman pressed her cheek against Noa’s. They had the same golden hair. She was around twenty-five years old, give or take, which seemed pretty young to be Noa’s mother. When I compared their faces while they were pressed up against each other, I realized they looked pretty similar, too. Just how old was she when she had Noa? I wondered.

“Cliff isn’t here?” Noa’s mother looked around.

“Father is still working in town. He told me to go ahead of him to the royal capital by myself.”

“Did he now? I can’t believe he let you come here alone.”

“He let me because Yuna escorted me.”

“Yuna? You don’t mean that girl in the amusing clothes?”

‘Strange’, I heard plenty, but no one called me ‘amusing’ before. Same difference, I guess.

“This person who’s dressed as a bear is the adventurer Yuna. She escorted me all the way to the capital. And this is Fina. She’s a bear friend.”

Wait what? A bear friend? Since when had that happened?

Anyway. Putting that aside, I greeted Noa’s mother. “Yuna. Pleased to meet you.”

“I’m Fina. Yuna brought me along on this trip,” Fina said, copying me.

“Oh my, what adorable children. I’m Noa’s mother Ellelaura. Let’s move inside so you can give me the details.”

“But Mother, how did you know I was coming to the royal capital?”

“Oh, I told the gate guard to send me an urgent message when you and Cliff arrived. Then when word came, I dumped all my work on His Majesty and came running.”

An urgent message? Did that mean they sent a messenger to the castle before we showed up? Wasn’t that really quick? On top of that, she said she dumped all her work on the king—was that really okay? I guess she couldn’t help it after she hadn’t seen her daughter in such a long time.

Ellelaura guided us into the massive interior of the residence. Maids came to greet us. A few of them couldn’t quite control their expressions when they saw me, but none of them laughed. We were guided to a spacious room.

“Please sit anywhere. I’m sure you’re worn out.”

There were two luxurious sofas that could seat about five people each on either side of a table. Fina hadn’t left my side since earlier; it looked like she was mimicking whatever I did. When I sat down in the middle of a sofa, Fina plopped herself down to my right and Noa sat to my left. Once we were all seated, a maid brought us drinks. Because I had been thirsty, I drank it gratefully. It was cool and delicious. Fina grabbed her cup and drained it, too.

After I quenched my thirst, I looked over toward Ellelaura again. “Lord Cliff requested that I keep these safe, ma’am.”

I pulled the letter and the box with the goblin king’s sword from the bear storage.

“Oh, so that bear on your hand is a bottomless bag,” Ellelaura remarked as she opened the letter and checked its contents. She nodded several times and looked over at me. Once she finished reading the letter, she closed it gently.

“So this is the goblin king’s sword. He’s found quite the rare item. And it seems you even let him have it.”

“Oh, it was no issue at all, ma’am.”

“Oh, stop being so formal.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s fine. It was in the letter.”

Now I wanted to know how Cliff described me in the letter…

“It’s best if you don’t worry about how she talks. It’s best if you don’t ask about her clothing. Also, she’s stronger than she looks. She gets in trouble easily because of her clothes, so please back her up if necessary…there’s a lot of other things written here too,” Ellelaura read.

Yup, he made me sound like a ridiculous nuisance. Even worse, it was all true, so I couldn’t even take issue with him for it.

“It also says that you’re kind, and that you’re an adventurer Noa’s taken a liking to. It seems that Cliff has a lot of faith in you.”

“Does he really?” He had entrusted me with Noa’s safety, but it was embarrassing to hear someone say it out loud. I couldn’t believe he placed that much faith in a girl who walked around wearing pajamas.

“That he tasked you with singlehandedly escorting our daughter speaks volumes. I was dubious that you could keep Noa safe alone, at first, but you’ve singlehandedly slain a hundred goblins, a goblin king, orcs, tigerwolves, and a black viper. I almost thought the contents of this letter were a joke.”

“Yes, Yuna is amazing. When we were coming to the royal capital, she defeated orcs and caught a bunch of bandits by herself!” Noa declared.

Ellelaura looked shocked. “Is that really true?”

“Yes, Lord Gran was there as well. He can tell you what he saw.”

Noa merrily talked about what happened on our way to the capital. She must have been eager to see her mother after so long.

“Well, look at the time. Shia should be home soon.”

“Shia?” Yet another name to keep track of.

“Yes,” said Noa, “she’s my older sister. She goes to the royal academy right now.”

“Noa, you have an older sister?”

“Yeah. She’s five years older than me, though, so we’re not super close.”

She was fifteen? I looked at Ellelaura again. Just how old was she when she had this kid? If I assumed she was twenty-eight, she’d have been thirteen… That wouldn’t fly in Japan, but maybe it wasn’t out of the question here?

“Yuna, are you letting strange thoughts run through your head?”

She read me like a book. I wondered if she was good at seeing through people, or if my face was just that transparent. I decided to come clean.

“You look so young, so I was wondering how old you were when you had your kids.”

“Oh, how young do you think I look?” Ellelaura blushed. Looks like women were always happy to be called young, no matter the world. Though I’d get angry whenever people guessed I was younger than I really am.

“At first I thought you were about twenty-five, but when I heard you have a fifteen-year-old daughter, I started wondering.”

“Oh my, what a joy to hear you say that. Normally I wouldn’t tell others how old I am, but I’ll make a special exception for you. I’m thirty-five this year.”

“My mother is famous for her beauty.”

“Oh, in that case, don’t you think my little girl will grow up to be a beauty too?”

“I hope so! That would make me so happy!” Noa seemed pleased.

There was a sudden commotion on the other side of the door, which opened to admit a girl in pigtails who was the spitting image of an older Noa.

“I’m back, Mother! Is Noa really here?”

I figured this was Shia. She was wearing school clothes. I guess they have uniforms in this world, too.

“Shia, you have guests before you.”

“Please excuse my rudeness. Wait, you mean that bear?!”

“Yes, that’s right. You’re being rude to the bear.”

Ellelaura, I thought, you’re also being rude.

“Mother, please don’t joke around.”

“Ha ha, this is no joke. This girl dressed as a bear is Yuna, the adventurer who escorted Noa to the royal capital. The girl next to her is her friend, Fina,” Ellelaura said.

“You’re saying these three girls came all the way to the capital on their own? You must be joking. These little girls came here all the way from Crimonia?”

I wondered if I was supposed to be one of “these little girls”? I supposed I was shorter than her.

“Hey you, could you stand up for me?”

I stood up like I was told.

“You must be joking. This cute little girl couldn’t be an adventurer.”

Cute little girl? I thought. Excuse me, I’m fifteen, just like you are. I was shorter than Shia, and my chest was flatter, but I was still growing, so that didn’t count.

“Sister, Yuna is strong. She’s amazing herself, but her bears are the most amazing of all.”

“Her bears?” Shia tilted her head dubiously.

“Ah yes,” said Ellelaura. “How about you have a match? If we do that, I’m sure Shia will understand.”

“Hold up—” Could they not make decisions on my behalf?

“Yuna, would you please take my daughter on as an opponent? Oh, and please don’t hold back. No major injuries, though, since she is a girl.”

“All right,” said Shia. “I accept the match.”

I don’t! This was a pain in the neck, and getting worse by the minute.

The situation just kept progressing from there, with or without my say-so. Before I knew it, the match was on and we were out in the courtyard.

“She’s gotten a big head thanks to being the strongest at her school,” said Ellelaura, “so make sure you knock her down a few pegs.”

Uhh. I didn’t really know what to do. Even if I wasn’t supposed to hold back, this was still a member of the nobility we were talking. Plus, I was sure hurting her would make Noa sad.

“Mother! I don’t have a big head.”

“Oh, you don’t? Weren’t you saying there isn’t a single girl stronger than you at school?”

“I did, but that doesn’t mean I have a big head!”

“Ha ha, I’m joking.”

“Umm, your name was Yuna, right?” Shia scowled at me.

“Yeah.”

“Are you better with a sword or magic, Yuna? Please choose whichever you like.”

“A sword, then.”

A maid brought over wooden swords for us to choose from.

“Well then, whenever you’re ready,” Shia said, readying her sword. Sword-wielding girls sure did look pretty cool, especially when they held their weapons with such evident skill. Her long, golden hair just added to the effect.

“You’re sure it’s cool to go whenever?”

“It’s fine.”

“Well then, I’ll take your word for it. Here I go.”

I used my bear step to make my way right to Shia’s chest in an instant, bringing my sword up to knock Shia’s out of her grip. As her sword fluttered through the air, I stopped the tip of mine right in front of her face.

“Is that enough for you?” I lowered my sword and withdrew.

“H-hey, wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Let’s do this one more time, please,” she asked, her eyes locked with mine in a serious expression. She wasn’t just being a poor loser—it looked like she actually did want to try again. “Please.”

“I’ll fight with you until you’re satisfied.”

I prepped my sword and waited for Shia’s move. When she made the first lunge, I nimbly dodged and knocked her sword down. She held her arm as though it’d gone numb. Despite that, she immediately retrieved her sword, readied, and attacked.

She swung her sword slowly and without much force. I didn’t know any girls her age, so I couldn’t tell if she was strong or weak for her level of training. I swept her blow away and brought my sword to a stop at the back of her neck. Shia had no strategy when she fought. It didn’t look like she was thinking about how her opponent would defend against her, how they’d attack, or anything at all.

I flicked away Shia’s wooden sword and pointed my sword at her defenseless body. “No matter how many times we do this, it’s going to be the same.”

“Pardon me, but may I use magic?”

“I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you very much.” Shia switched her sword to her left hand and gathered mana that coalesced into a flame in her right hand. “Fireball!”

The fireball flew at me. I dipped out of its path. Shia was waiting there with her sword raised overhead. She was still as slow as ever, though. I parried the blow handily.

Shia jumped back, took some distance, and then threw another fireball. What were they teaching her at the academy? There was no point in knowing both magic and swordplay if you didn’t use them together. Even beginner gamers a few months in knew how to fight better. Maybe it was a matter of experience? I’d done my share of PvP matches in the game world. Most were with chumps picking hopeless fights, but there’d been a few times I only won by the skin of my teeth. Even if I lost, I still would have learned something.

You couldn’t get that type of experience in this world. If you lost, you’d die.

I sidestepped the fireball and closed the distance between me and Shia, then hit her in the stomach with a weak bear punch.

“Guh…” Shia bent over and sunk to her knees. Maybe that was a little too strong?

“That’s enough,” Ellelaura said, ending the match.

“I-I can still…”

“You must know she was going easy on you.”

“B-but…”

“It’s over.”

“…Okay,” Shia answered meekly, looking at me as she stood up. “Your name was Yuna, wasn’t it? You were really strong. Despite appearances, I’m actually one of the more powerful ones at the academy. I never thought I’d lose to someone younger than me.”

“I’m fifteen.”

“What?”

“Like I said, I’m fifteen. I’m the same age as you.”

“No way, I thought you were younger than me.”

Sure, I was smaller than average, but I wasn’t that small…I think.

“Well then, how about we throw a party to celebrate Noa’s arrival at the capital, and to welcome Yuna and Fina?”

 

With the match concluded, we sat down together for a tasty meal, though I felt like something was missing. This world didn’t have anywhere near as many seasonings as Japan. They had sugar, salt, and basic spices, but I yearned for soy sauce and miso.

Meanwhile, Fina was acting strange. She was eating with small bites, but she wasn’t saying much. Even when someone did talk to her, she didn’t seem to want to reply much. Maybe the food disagreed with her?

“Mother, do you think the teachers and everyone at the academy were going easy on me?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that. Yuna is an outlier. In terms of adventurers, I’m sure her level would be at least around Rank C.”

“Rank C… Mother, that’s impossible.”

“She defeated a horde of a hundred goblins. She slayed a goblin king. She slayed orcs. She slayed a pair of tigerwolves. She slayed a black viper—and, of course, she did all of that by herself.”

Where were the privacy protection laws in this place?! I wished people would stop gossiping about my exploits.

“So you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it,” Ellelaura went on. “I just wanted you to know that there are kids the same age as you that are stronger.”

“Yes. She was very strong. Yuna, I’m sorry about earlier,” Shia said. Maybe she wasn’t such a bad kid after all. “But you can use magic too, right, Yuna?”

“Pretty much.”

“And is your magic as strong?”

“On top of that, Yuna has her bears. They’re even more amazing,” Noa said, proudly inserting herself into the conversation.

“Like I said before, what are these bears supposed to be?”

“They’re Yuna’s summons. They’re super cute.”

“Summons… um, would you let me see those bear summons later?”

“Sure,” I promised Shia.

Once we were done eating, we were led to the rooms we’d be sleeping in that night. Just as Fina asked, we shared the same room.