Chapter 60 – Bear-san Obtains Potatoes

When I went to wake the three who were still sleeping,

「What is everyone doing in the garden?」

Eleanora-san came over.

「Welcome back, madam.」

「Ara, the way those three are sleeping looks really comfortable.」

She wore a warm expression as she watched the three of them sleep while being embraced by Swaying Bear.

「Are those bears Yuna-chan’s summoned beasts?」

「The black one is Swaying Bear, and the white one is Hugging Bear.」

「What cute names. Is it alright if I touch them?」

「It’s alright as long as you don’t harm them.」

Eleanora-san approached and touched Swaying Bear.

「It’s warm and pleasant to touch. Like this, one couldn’t help but want to sleep.」

She smiled while gazing at the three young girls.

「What are the two of you doing?」

「I was fixing the flower beds with Yuna-san’s a.s.sistance.」

Suririna-san showed off the flower beds we made together.

「Ah, the flower beds you were talking about the other day, right? Did you do this in a single day? They’re beautiful.」

「Yes, Yuna-san’s magic was splendid, and made them according to the image I had in mind.」

「Is that so? Yuna-chan, thank you. It seems we have given you all sorts of trouble.」

She looked at the beautifully completed flower beds and at the girls who were sleeping in the bears’ embrace.

「I really must reward you with something to show my grat.i.tude.」

「That’s not necessary, since you helped me out today.」

「Ah, that matter, huh. Since I dispatched the soldiers immediately, the thieves should be subjugated in a few days, so you can rest easy.」

「They won’t run away?」

「It’s all right. If you caught all of the thieves that attacked you, then the thieves at the hideout won’t know that their comrades were captured, right?」

「However, if they never return…」

「Judging from previous instances, after the thieves a.s.sault someone, they go to the nearby village to buy food and drink. They don’t normally return to the hideout immediately, so they wouldn’t consider it strange if people returned late.」

「Is that village all right?」

「It’s all right, since the thieves won’t attack the village.」

「Why is that?」

「Criminals cannot enter the Royal Capital or towns, as these places are able to examine them and look up their criminal records. It’s only in villages that they aren’t examined. If they attacked villages, then they would lose a place to buy goods, which is why the thieves won’t attack the villages.」

I see, so the thieves also had rules that they followed, huh?

「Now then, it’s about time for these three to wake up.」

「Mother?」

She looked at her mother with a sleepy face.

「Good morning. The three of you seem to have slept well, hmm.」

When all three of them woke up and noticed that their time with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear was over, they made sad expressions.

Why, even Fina?

I had heard about the matter regarding the thieves from Eleanora-san and said my thanks, so I was going to leave the mansion.

「Yuna-chan, you don’t have a house yet, right? It’s fine to stay here until then, you know.」

Ah, that’s right. Eleanora-san doesn’t know about the Bear House yet, huh?

「It’s all right. It’s a bit small, but I’ve already built a house.」

「That’s a joke, right?」

「I made it using a bit of magic, similar to the magic used to create the flower beds.」

「Ha, please don’t lump flower beds and houses together like that. If it was that easy to build a house, then work for carpenter-san would quickly disappear, you know!」

She said while laughing.

///

The next day, I woke up in the Bear House.

「Big sis Yuna, is it okay?」

「It’s fine.」

It seemed like Fina had made a promise to go out together with Noa today.

「Here, I’ve put some money in there, so use it however you want.」

I handed over one of the item bags I had received as a reward for capturing the thieves.

「The two of you are going to go to many different places, right? Since it’s Fina, you probably won’t allow yourself to be treated all the time.」

「But…」

「It’s the long-awaited Royal Capital, you know. It would be a waste if you didn’t enjoy yourself. Even with this much, if you’re still worried about the money, then it’s fine if you work harder with the dismantling from now on.」

「Since I’m unable to do the dismantling after all,」 I quietly muttered in my heart.

Now then, since even Fina had left, I decided to go sightseeing in the Royal Capital as well.

Though the stares of the people bothered me, the real point was that I didn’t have the courage to change into casual clothes.

I was afraid that my magic, skills, summons, and everything else would be unusable without the bear clothes.

I thought that if I were attacked or if a dangerous situation were to occur, then, if I was wearing casual clothes, I wouldn’t be able to change.

If I was in the bear clothes, however, then even if I were to be attacked or found myself in a dangerous situation, I would be able to handle it somehow.

Even if Fina found herself in danger, I would be able to rush over immediately.

That is why I decided to endure the gazes and walked around the capital looking like a bear.

Well, the gazes were mostly warm though.

If it was only embarra.s.sment, then it was fine if I just did my best to endure it.

As I was walking around the Royal Capital, I ended up in a large plaza.

Did peddler shops line up here, I wonder?

Quite a number of cloths were spread on the plaza grounds, with various articles lined up on top.

I took my time looking around.

「This is…」

「Hmm? Welcome miss, what a cute appearance you have.」

A man in his late thirties said softly.

「Is this possibly, a potato?」

That’s right, he was selling potatoes which I hadn’t seen on sale even in town.

「That’s right. Miss, will you buy some?」

At last, I managed to come across potatoes.

Which is why I said it.

「I’ll take everything.」

「Yes? Miss, even if potatoes are an unpopular food, even miss cannot buy all of it with the money you’re carrying.」

The man began to lose his temper a bit.

「How much is it?」

「Hmm, that’s right. Around this much. If you can pay, I’ll sell it all to you.」

He gave a curt reply , but my answer to that was-

「I’ll take it!」

「Like I said…」

I paid the man more than the designated amount.

「Are you serious?」

After seeing the money I took out, the man looked at me with a surprised expression.

「I’m happy that you’ll buy them, but are you sure?」

「I’ve been looking for this, these potatoes. It’s good steamed, in potato salad, or even as french fries!」

「Miss, have you eaten potatoes before?」

「Isn’t that obvious? Such a delicious thing, but since it wasn’t sold in the town I’ve lived in up till now, I have been searching for it.」

「Well, that’s to be expected, since it’s an unpopular food after all.」

「Why is that?」

「If you’re unlucky, then you might become nauseous and get a stomachache.」

「Ah, poison, right?」

「So you know about it?」

「Well, there is poison in the potato’s eyes after all. Besides that though, as long as you don’t eat the eyes, it’s a delicious food, you know!」

「…is that true?」

「What do you mean?」

「About the eyes.」

「It’s the truth. The poison is only in the eyes of the potatoes, did you not even know that much?」

「Miss, are you a scholar-sama? There isn’t anyone who would know of such a thing.」

So, because something like this wasn’t widely known, potatoes weren’t being sold?

Well, as for me, I didn’t know about the differences between mushrooms, so it was probably a similar feeling to that.

「That’s not it. It’s just, in the place where I was born and raised, that much was common sense.」

「Common sense, huh. A place where it’s normal to be able to eat potatoes, huh. It must be a good place.」

「But, if you tell everyone about the eyes, then wouldn’t everyone be able to eat them?」

「Aah, but making the information widespread is very difficult. Still, I’m grateful.」

「I’m glad to have been of use. So then, uncle, won’t you tell me the location of your village? Next time, I’ll go there to buy more.」

「I’m happy to hear that, but it’s quite a distance.」

I took out some paper and had him draw a map.

Could it be that it was actually located quite close to the town of Crimonia?

「It’s all right, because it looks like it’s close to the town of Crimonia.」

「Miss, did you come from the town of Crimonia?」

「Even if I look like this, I’m an adventurer you know.」

「If miss does come and buy more, shall I transport it to the town of Crimonia?」

「Is that okay?」

「Ah yeah, because I wasn’t able to sell them even in the Royal Capital, you see. If you do buy them, since the town of Crimonia is nearby, it’ll be a big help to me as well.」

「Un, I’ll buy them. With that, the next time you come to the town of Crimonia, can you transport them to the town orphanage? I’ll talk to them about this later.」

「The orphanage?」

「Because I have an acquaintance there. Also, here is an advanced payment.」

I handed over no more than the amount I paid a short while ago.

「Are you sure? What if I don’t go to town?」

「In that case, I’ll go to the village to collect my money.」

「That was a joke. I’ll bring them properly.」

「Once a month is okay.」

「Ah, I got it. I’m Zamal.」

「I’m Yuna. For the moment, I’m an adventurer.」

「So then, what should I do with these potatoes? If you have someplace to move them to, I can help.」

「It’s fine, I will just put them away.」

I put the giant mountain-like pile of potatoes away into the Bear Box.

With this, I could create snack foods like potato chips.

I was also looking forward to french fries.

「It’s the first time I’ve seen an item bag that can store so much. Miss, who the h.e.l.l are you?」

「I’m just an adventurer. That said, I’m also registered at the Commerce Guild.」

All the potatoes which had been displayed in the stall were stowed away inside the Bear Box.

「If there’s anymore, I can buy it too.」

「Those are all the potatoes I have. Besides that, I also sell vegetables, but those actually sell.」

「Other vegetables?」

「Ah yes, a fellow that came with me is selling them in another place. Those vegetable are vegetables that are sold everywhere, so it’s not something that miss would be interested in.」

「Well, it’s being sold among the street stalls, so if it catches my eye, I’ll buy it okay?」

「Ah, just do that. So then, when would be a good time for me to go to the town of Crimonia?」

「I plan to be in the Royal Capital until the end of the birthday festival, and then, even though I’m returning, it will take over three weeks, so two months later is okay, I think?」

I didn’t know how many potatoes would be left.

「I understand. I’ll head there in two months.」

I parted from the potato uncle and continued inspecting the street stalls.

There was an appetizing grilled kebab, so I bought and ate it.

If I came across any unusual food, I would buy it and eat it.

For ingredients, I would put them away in the Bear Box.

If it was a never-before-seen ingredient, I would buy one as a test, and buy it in large quant.i.ties if it was delicious.

I had not gone around all the sections yet, but as expected, there was no soy sauce, miso, or rice.

I also caught sight of freshwater fish, but didn’t see any salt.w.a.ter fish.

Among other things, I wanted to eat sushi, but it wasn’t possible to make it without rice.

In which case, even octopus or squid was fine. I wanted to eat it grilled.

To begin with, was the sea even nearby?

As I was leisurely inspecting the street stalls, a considerable amount of time had pa.s.sed.

Though it was slightly early, I decided to head back.

That’s right, it was for the sake of the potatoes in the Bear Box.

After I returned to the Bear House, without delay, I sliced some potatoes into thin slices and deep fried them in oil.

I heard the great sound of crackling oil, and raised them when they were crispy.

I placed them on a dish and sprinkled salt on top.

Salty potato chips complete!

Though it was regrettable that other flavors were not possible, this was delicious enough.

「Delicious.」

Ah, the nostalgic taste of potato chips.

Pori pori~

As I was munching and crunching on potato chips, Fina returned.

「I’m home.」

「Welcome home.」

「Excuse me for intruding.」

Un? It seems Noa is here too.

「What’s the matter?」

Pori pori.

「Noire-sama said she wanted to see the k.u.ma house.」

「It’s nothing much, but you can take your time looking around.」

Pori pori.

「Yuna-san, what in the world are you eating?」

「Potato chips, you know.」

Pori pori.

「Potetochippusu?」

Noa tilted her head.

「Want to try some?」

「Yes, thank you.」

「Can I have some too?」

I held out the dish before the two.

Both stuck a potato chip into their mouths.

Pori…

「It’s delicious!」

「Yes, it’s delicious!」

「I’m glad that you liked the taste.」

「How did you make this?」

「I only sliced potatoes into thin slices and deep-fried them in oil.」

「Po-potatoes…」

The moment they heard potatoes, their hands halted in midair.

「Big sis Yuna, if you eat potatoes, you’ll get sick, you know.」

The two of them began to grow fl.u.s.tered.

「It’s all right. The poison is in the eyes. The main body is alright. If it turns green or purple though, it is dangerous, but normally, potatoes are a delicious food, you know.」

「Is that so?」

「I was told that if I ate potatoes, I would get sick though.」

「Me too.」

「Well, the eyes and the portions that turn purple have poison. It seems like you didn’t know that though.」

I extended my hand towards the potato chips on the plate, which their hands had stopped reaching for, and began to eat again.

Well, I didn’t want to force them to eat something they didn’t want to eat.

Which is why i was eating by myself.

Pori pori.

Bari bari.

Ahh, delicious.

I wanted to eat consomme-flavored ones.

As expected, reproducing that was impossible though.

「Yuna-san, is it really safe?」

「What is?」

Pori pori.

「The condition of your body isn’t worsening or anything?」

「Of course it isn’t.」

Pori pori.

「Big sis Yuna, can I have a little?」

「Sure, I still have a lot of potatoes after all.」

Fina reached out for the potato chips.

「Fina, you traitor.」

「It’s not particularly a betrayal or anything. Big Sis Yuna wouldn’t tell a lie, and besides, the potato chips are delicious.」

Pori pori.

Bari bari.

The two of us ate while the amount of potato chips on the plate gradually decreased.

「Yuna-san, I’ll also eat it, so please!」

Because the potato chips on top of the plate had all disappeared, I would make some more again another time.

For dinner, I made french fries and this was also favorably received by Fina.