Chapter 19: The Bear’s Rainy Day Off (Part 2)
I gave up on strength training, and since lunchtime had probably passed, I decided to go downstairs to look for something to kill time.
The first floor served as both the dining hall and the inn’s reception.
During lunch, it had been crowded like before.
But at this hour, no one was eating.
Elena was sitting at the counter with a tired expression.
“Ah, Yuna, I’m sorry about earlier.”
“It’s fine.”
“So, what brings you here?”
“Just looking to pass some time.”
I took a seat at the counter.
“Well, even if you say that, there’s really nothing to do here.”
“Then can I at least get something to drink?”
“Of course.”
She went to the back and brought back a drink.
“Here you go. It’s Mira fruit juice.”
She sat down in front of me with her own glass and started drinking as well.
“Are you free?”
“I’m on a break. It was busy earlier, so I’m resting. Besides, I’m still watching the counter, so I’m not slacking off.”
I thanked her and took a sip of the juice.
It had a slightly sweet and sour taste.
The only downside was that it was lukewarm.
Hmm?
If it’s lukewarm, then I just need to cool it.
I placed my black bear glove over the cup, channeled magic into it, and imagined ice.
With a soft plop, ice appeared in the cup.
“W-What is that?”
“I just added ice to the juice. I figured it would taste better cold.”
I took a sip.
The flavor improved dramatically.
“C-can you do that for mine too?”
Watching me drink happily, Elena held out her cup.
There was no reason to refuse, so I dropped some ice into her drink as well.
“Thank you!”
She gently swirled the ice in her cup, waited for it to cool, and then took a sip.
“Wow, it’s delicious! Just cooling it makes such a difference. This would be perfect on hot days. But… there’s no space in the fridge to chill juice like this…”
Refrigerators did exist in this world.
They were made using ice-type magic stones.
However, in this town, ice-type magic stones were rare and valuable.
According to the monster encyclopedia, such stones came from monsters living in the north.
In simple terms, since only ice-type monsters dropped them, they weren’t available around here.
That said, those were for powerful freezers.
For simple cooling, even ordinary magic stones—like those from wolves—could be enchanted with ice attributes to produce a cooling effect.
So freezers were luxury items, while basic refrigerators were more common among ordinary people.
“If only the fridge were a bit bigger…”
Elena sipped her chilled juice slowly.
“Hey, Elena, can’t you use magic?”
“No way. If I could, I wouldn’t be working as an innkeeper’s daughter. I envy you, Yuna.”
Even if she envied me, I couldn’t use magic without the bear.
According to Elena, most people in this world have magical power.
She had told me that the first time I used the bath.
The bath used water and fire magic stones.
By channeling magic into them, water and hot water would come out.
When I first used it, I worried for a moment that I wouldn’t be able to activate it since I was naked, but it worked just fine.
The bear equipment description also mentioned “channeling magic into the bear,” which meant I myself had magical power.
But without the bear, I couldn’t use magic.
Elena also had magical power but couldn’t use magic.
I still didn’t fully understand the relationship between magic power and magic in this world.
Maybe Elena was in the same state as me when I was without the bear.
If I looked into it more, I might be able to use magic without the bear.
But since the bear let me use magic easily just by imagining it, I wasn’t too concerned for now.
In the end, I spent the entire afternoon chatting with Elena until dinner.
For me, it was a good way to pass the time.
For Elena… she got scolded harshly by her mother for slacking off.