Chapter 60: The Bear Obtains Potatoes

Chapter 60:
The Bear Obtains Potatoes

 

I WOKE IN THE BEAR HOUSE the next morning. We went back to it last night, after dinner at Ellelaura’s house.

“Yuna, are you sure?”

“It’s fine.”

During dinner, Fina promised to go out with Noa. They also talked about inviting Misa, so it seemed the three of them were going to go sightseeing around the royal capital.

“Here,” I said, “this is your allowance. The three of you are probably going to go to a ton of places. I’ll give you more than usual, so use it on whatever you’d like. And, of course, you don’t have to give it back to me.”

I handed some money over to Fina.

“But…” She wasn’t taking the money.

“I was the one who invited you to the royal capital, so don’t worry about it. You don’t want to cause trouble for the other two because you don’t have money, do you?”

“Okay…I’ll take it, but I’ll work hard to pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about that. You’re working hard at butchering, so consider this a bonus.”

“A bonus?” Fina tilted her head to the side, as though she hadn’t understood what I said.

“You’re always working so hard, so it’s like a special payment for that. So don’t worry about it. Just spend it and have fun.”

“Thank you, Yuna.”

Fina put the money in her bottomless bag and left the house. Now that Fina left, I decided to do my own sightseeing around the capital.

 

As I walked around the capital, I received the usual attention.

“A bear?”

“Is that a bear?”

“Mom, what’s that?”

“How cute.”

“Is there some kind of event happening?”

It was embarrassing, but I had no choice but to just grin and bear it. I wished the god that brought me to this fantasy world had at least given me clothes I could walk around in without sticking out like a sore thumb. There were tons of other options, like the cool gear I used in the game. Why did it all have to be bears? If I was a guy, this would be completely out of the question.

I mentally invented new ways to cuss the god out as I wandered around the royal capital.

 

Eventually, I got to a place that looked like a plaza. There were cloths spread over the ground with all kinds of merchandise laid out on them. Maybe there’d be some unusual things around here? The shopkeepers looked surprised whenever I stopped to browse their wares, but no one looked at me maliciously.

“This is…”

I stopped.

“Hm? What a cutely dressed girl. Welcome in,” a man in his thirties said feebly.

There were vegetables lining the shop. One, in particular, caught my eye.

“Are those spuds?”

“That’s right. Would you like to buy some, dear?”

At last! I’d finally found the humble potato.

“I’ll take all of them.”

“Pardon? Miss bear, no matter how unpopular these tubers are, it’s not as though you could buy all of them with the money you’d be carrying.” The man seemed a little ticked off.

“How much are they?”

“Right. It’d be about this much. If you can pay that, I’ll sell them all to you.” He presented the amount to me brusquely.

But I replied, “Sold!”

“Like I said…”

I pulled out a little bit more than the specified amount and handed it over to the man.

“Really?” He looked at the money I pulled out and then at me in surprise. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’ll take them.”

I could steam them or make them into a potato salad. I could turn them into potato chips or fries for an afternoon snack—there were a million different things I could do with them. Anyway, I had a hankering for salted potato chips.

“If you’re going to eat them, please be careful. If you’re unlucky, they might make you vomit or give you a nasty stomachache.”

“Right, because of the poison.” The sprouts were poisonous.

“Spuds are tasty, but not many buy them because of that.”

“Yeah, the parts that sprout or turn green are poisonous. As long as you’re careful to avoid those, they’re fine.”

“Is that true?”

“What?”

“What you just said.”

“Yeah, it is?” That was common knowledge back home.

“I have certainly heard they cause more stomachaches once they’ve started to sprout. But how do you know about that, Miss Bear?”

“Where I grew up, everybody knows that.”

“Is there such a place? No one knows about that around here, so I don’t sell very many.”

Maybe that’s why they didn’t sell them in Crimonia? “Could you tell me which village you’re from, sir? Next time I’ll go there to buy them from you.”

“I would dearly appreciate that, but it’s quite far away.”

I pulled out a piece of paper and had him draw a map. This was the royal capital, and maybe this was Crimonia?

“Looks like it’s close to Crimonia.”

“Miss Bear, you know of Crimonia?”

“Yeah, I live there.”

“You do? Well if you’ll really buy them from me, I can bring them to Crimonia for you.”

“Are you sure?” That would be a big help. I wanted to let the orphans try them.

“Yes! I wasn’t selling many in the royal capital, but Crimonia is close to where my village is, and it would save me some trouble.”

“Yeah, I’ll buy them. In that case, next time you get to Crimonia, could you take them to the orphanage? I’ll let them know in advance.”

“To the orphanage?”

“There’s someone I know there. Also, here’s the advance payment.” I handed over the same amount as I had before.

“Are you sure? What if I don’t show up?”

“If that happens, I’ll head over to your village to collect them.”

“I was joking. I’ll make sure to bring them. My name’s Zamoru.”

“I’m Yuna.”

“Well then, what will you do with these? If you’re taking them somewhere, I can help.”

“That’s fine. I’ll put them away.”

I started loading the huge pile of potatoes into my bear storage. I was looking forward to the snacks they were sure to become.

“You’re something, Miss Bear.” The man watched in wonder as I put the potatoes away. “Well then, when should I deliver more to Crimonia?”

“I’ll be here until the birthday celebration is over, and even if I head home right after that, that’d still be three weeks, so in about a month would be good.”

“Got it. I’ll definitely be there.”

I left the man and browsed the other stalls. I bought and ate some delicious looking meat skewers and anything that seemed unusual, and bought any ingredients that caught my fancy in bulk if it passed a taste test. It wasn’t like I scoped out every single item being sold in the place, but I definitely didn’t see any soy sauce, miso, or rice. I wanted sushi with soy sauce—even octopus or squid would do, ideally grilled—but I decided that acquiring potatoes was enough for today. Maybe I’d make potato chips and fries when I got home. Though it was a little early, I decided to head back.

 

When I made it back to the bear house, Fina still hadn’t returned. Well then, I thought, guess I’ll whip up some chips for myself.

I headed to the kitchen, took out some potatoes, thinly sliced them, and fried them in oil. They made great popping sounds as they fried up nice and crisp. I put them on a plate and sprinkled salt over them. With that, my dearly missed salted potato chips were done.

I was a little disappointed I couldn’t make other flavors, but I popped a single chip in my mouth.

“Delicious.”

Ah, I missed the flavor of chips. Since I was getting thirsty, I got myself something to drink. Fina came home while I was munching on the rest of the chips.

“Welcome home,” I greeted. Crunch crunch. Fina looked a little haggard. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes, it was fun.”

Then why’d she look so worn out? Did they go to so many places that it tired her out?

“Yuna, I’m giving this back.” Fina pulled out the bag of money I’d given her. She told me that Noa apparently paid for everything, so she hadn’t needed to use any. I should thank Noa next time I saw her.

“You might need it later, so just hold onto it,” I said. Crunch crunch.

“What are you eating, Yuna?”

Crunch crunch.

“Potato chips.”

“Poe-tay-toh chips?” Fina tilted her head to the side.

“Want to try some?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I held the plate out to Fina.

Crunch crunch…“They’re delicious.”

“I’m glad you like them.”

Fina ate another one.

“Eat as many as you like. There are a lot more.”

“Thank you very much. Were they selling these?”

“They were selling spuds, so I bought some and turned them into chips.” When she heard me say that, Fina pulled back her hand as though surprised. “Fina, do you know what spuds are?”

“I don’t know much about them, but I heard a long time ago that you had to be careful when you ate them.”

“You have to be careful about not eating the sprouts and the parts that are green, but otherwise, they’re fine.”

“Are they really?”

“If you eat the sprouted bits, you’ll give yourself a stomachache. Worse, if you’re unlucky. So you’ve got to be careful,” I explained to her as she looked at me with reverence.

Munch munch. Crunch crunch. Ah, that hit the spot. I was really craving some consommé-flavored chips now, but of course, I couldn’t magic those up out of nowhere. Fina watched me eat, then reached out her hand and took a few more chips.

“They’re easy to make, so they’re good as a snack.”

With the two of us working at it, the plate rapidly emptied. I showed Fina how to make potato chips, then made fries for dinner. Unsurprisingly, those were a hit, too.