Chapter 276 – Bear-san Prepares for Battle (1/2)
After agreeing on the conditions for winning or losing, I was about to go to Shia when she instead came to me with a lowered head.
「Yuna-san, um, I’m so sorry. Because of me, you…」
「Shia, you did nothing wrong.」
This was entirely Rutum’s fault for being a grown-up who didn’t care about the feelings of children.
I noticed the rest of the girls had worried expressions just like Shia.
「But…」
「Shia… You think of us as friends, right?」
I wanted to confirm what I was to her.
I really hoped she wouldn’t say 「I don’t really,」 or 「I can’t be friends with someone who wears embarrassing bear costumes.」
「You are a person I look up to, Yuna-san.」
For some reason, I received a response I wasn’t expecting.
「You’re strong, you can cook, you are knowledgeable about many things, and you always take care of me. I’m very happy that you think of me as your friend.」
I was relieved to hear that she did think of me as a friend, after all.
「In that case, just as you were trying to protect your friend, Rinea, I’m now going to protect you, because you’re my friend too.」
「Yuna-san… Thank you so much.」
Shia said with a warm smile.
「Onee-sama… that’s not fair. Yuna-san, I’m your friend too, right?」
Noa latched onto my arm and peered up at me. Even when she looked at me like that, I could only respond:
「Umm, I think of you as my little sister, I guess?」
「Your little sister?」
「Yeah, like a slightly selfish but cute little sister?」
「Selfish… I don’t act selfishly. Yuna-san, you’re so mean.」
Noa protested, puffing her cheeks, but I could see that she was also smiling.
Shia quickly wrapped her arms around Noa as if to prevent me from taking her away.
「Yuna-san, Noa is my little sister. I won’t hand her over to you, even if you are my friend.」
「Onee-sama, you’re hurting me.」
Both Shia and I laughed as we watched Noa struggling to escape Shia’s arms.
「Well, I may have lost Noa to you, but I still have two little sisters of my own.」
I said, hugging Fina and Shuri to me.
「Yuna-oneechan!」
「Yuna-neechan!」
The two of them exclaimed in embarrassment as I hugged them. At least they now had smiles on their faces instead of worried expressions.
They would look sad if I lost the upcoming match, so I really had to win.
I looked towards the arena and saw Rutum already ordering all his knights except for one to return to the sidelines. The audience started making a fuss over the matches being over but were soon appeased learning there would be a special match up next. From what I gathered, they had only been told they that there would be a special match and not the contents of the wager.
Rutum then proceeded to speak with the remaining knight. Would he be my opponent?
「So, he really is going to be the opponent…」
Eleanora-san, who had been chatting with the king, spoke as she looked over at the knight talking to Rutum.
「Eleanora-san, is that man strong?」
「He is indeed. Among the knights in Rutum’s Chivalric Order, he might be the strongest. Also, he for sure won’t be holding back.」
Even with me, a small girl, as his opponent, that knight would not hold back? In that case, I didn’t have to hold back, either.
「By the way, what were you and His Majesty talking about just now?」
Eleanora-san waited for Rutum to finish his conversation and walk away before answering me.
「Nothing much. He was simply mad at me for doing things without asking him first and wanted me to think about everyone who would be troubled if I suddenly quit!」
Of course deciding on a course of action without asking him was going to make him upset.
Despite constantly skipping out on her duties, Eleanora-san was apparently still viewed as an important subordinate by his side, and they also seemed to get along well.
「Honestly, I wouldn’t really mind if I had to go back to Crimonia and be with Cliff. After all, if I did that, I could eat Yuna-chan’s cooking more often.」
Was my cooking possibly the real reason she wanted to return to Crimonia?
If so, I felt bad for Cliff…
「After scolding me, His Majesty asked me if you will win the fight.」
「Who knows? I don’t really know myself until I actually fight him. If that knight is stronger than a Worm or a Black Viper, then I might not be able to win.」
I couldn’t give her a definitive answer since I had never battled him before.
「Yuna-chan, making such a comparison is a little strange.」
I wished she didn’t look at me with such a shocked expression… I really didn’t really know the strength of people in this world.
Looking back at the knight who would be my opponent, I noticed that he was carrying a weapon.
「Eleanora-san, do I have to bring my own sword? Or, can I use one of the practice ones?」
I did have the steel sword that I had bought from Gold-san. I had planned to use it to practice swordplay but had ended up learning magic, and focusing on that when battling, so that sword had not seen the light of day since then.
「It should still be considered a practice match, so you can use a sword meant for that. Shia, can you get one for Yuna-chan?」
Shia nodded, and went off to get a practice sword for me. I followed her with my gaze, and saw she actually ended up asking her friend Rinea, and borrowing a sword from her.
「Here you go, Yuna-san.」
「Thank you.」
I took the sword from Shia and unsheathed it. It looked to be a bit smaller than the swords the knights used, most likely because Rinea had chosen it to be her sword. Well, this size was just perfect for someone of my height.
After inspecting it, I swung it around lightly. Right, left, down, stab. I repeated my swings several times in order to get used to it. Once I was satisfied, I returned the sword to its sheath.
Mhm, swinging a sword really felt good. My body hadn’t forgotten the movements at all. It seemed like I could still fight efficiently even though it had been a while.
「Yuna-san, you’re amazing.」
「Yuna-neechan looks so cool…」
The girls all gazed at me with respect. It was a bit embarrassing to be praised for something so simple, though.