Chapter 30: The Rumored Bear Girl
A few days after building the Bear House, it had become a local attraction.
A building had appeared on an empty lot without anyone noticing.
People were shocked by the fact that the house itself was shaped like a bear.
Then they discovered that the resident also dressed like a bear.
As a result, there were always groups of people standing at a distance, staring toward the Bear House.
Because of that, I hadn’t been going outside lately.
On the first day, I went out to eat.
Now I cooked my own meals at home.
“Yuna Big Sister, I’ve finished today’s dismantling.”
Fina came every day to dismantle monsters.
So after every three days of work, I made her take one day off.
I also limited her to five monsters per day.
As a result, she usually finished within half a day.
“Thanks.”
“Be careful on your way home.”
“Okay.”
“Yuna Big Sister, aren’t you going to work?”
“I’ll go eventually…”
I really had been becoming a shut-in lately.
At this rate, that probably wasn’t good.
Maybe I’d go to the guild first thing tomorrow morning.
The next day, I got up early for the first time in a while and headed to the guild.
“Ah, Yuna! You finally came!”
The moment Helen spotted me, she shouted.
What a nuisance to the neighborhood.
“Morning, Helen.”
“Honestly, where have you been?”
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
“Waiting for me?”
“Yes.”
“A named request has come in for you.”
“A named request?”
“Yes.”
“It came from Lord Cliff Fochrose.”
“…Who?”
I had never heard that name before.
“You don’t know him?”
“Count Fochrose is the lord of this town.”
“The lord?”
“Yes.”
This sounded like a huge pain.
Whenever nobles appeared in manga or novels, they were always troublemakers on the same level as royalty.
If possible, I wanted nothing to do with them.
So…
“I’ll pass.”
“Huh?”
“I decline.”
“Huh?”
“I’m going home.”
“Wait, wait a moment!”
Helen leaned over the counter and grabbed my bear outfit.
“What?”
“Why are you trying to leave?”
“To go home and sleep.”
“It’s still morning.”
“I can sleep whenever I want.”
“At least hear the request first.”
“The messenger from Lord Fochrose has come here multiple times because you never show up.”
“That has nothing to do with me.”
“Please just listen.”
“No.”
“Pleeease?”
“Can I refuse after hearing it?”
“Why are you so against this?”
“My grandmother’s dying wish was to stay away from nobles and royalty.”
“What kind of advice is that?”
“Because nobles and royals are the kind of people who kill others whenever they’re displeased.”
“They throw people into prison.”
“If they see a woman they like, they demand her body.”
“If she refuses, they threaten her.”
“They turn innocent people into criminals.”
“They extort money from commoners.”
“They use their wealth to do whatever they want.”
“And their children are arrogant, bossy, selfish, and convinced they’re superior to everyone else.”
“What kind of ridiculous prejudice is that?”
“Isn’t it true?”
“There are certainly nobles like the ones you’re describing.”
So they do exist.
“But Lord Fochrose isn’t like that.”
“You can relax.”
“Have you met him?”
“No.”
“Then you don’t know.”
“I’ve never heard any bad rumors about him.”
“What if he’s secretly killing people behind the scenes?”
“The dead can’t talk.”
“Why does your mind immediately go there?”
I couldn’t exactly say it was because of manga and novels.
“Hey.”
“What’s all this noise during the morning rush?”
The muscle-bound gorilla, also known as the Guild Master, appeared.
“Guild Master!”
“Helen.”
“You know mornings are busy.”
“What are you doing?”
“This isn’t my fault.”
“Lord Fochrose sent a named request for Yuna.”
“But she refuses to even listen because she has strange prejudices about nobles.”
“Prejudices?”
“She says nobles kill people whenever they feel like it.”
“That they demand women’s bodies.”
“That their children are arrogant and selfish.”
“Things like that.”
“Well, she’s not entirely wrong.”
“I knew it.”
“Guild Master!”
“Ah, sorry.”
“Nobles like that certainly exist.”
“But Fochrose isn’t one of them, so don’t worry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“I know him personally.”
Well, it wouldn’t be strange for the Guild Master to know the town lord.
“Please.”
“If you refuse, it becomes a problem for the guild’s reputation.”
“Fine.”
“I’ll at least hear the details.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Though there really aren’t many details.”
“I was only told to have you visit his estate.”
“What kind of request is that?”
“He probably just wants to see the rumored Bear Girl.”
“Bear Girl?”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
“That’s one of your nicknames.”
“I know Bloody Bear.”
Even if it was a terrible nickname.
“That’s what the male adventurers call you.”
“The female adventurers and children usually call you Bear Girl or Miss Bear.”
I didn’t know that.
“But why am I a rumor?”
“You’re dressed like a bear.”
“You’ve soloed wolves, goblin hordes, a Goblin King, and plenty of other monsters despite being a newcomer.”
“You summon bears.”
“You built a bear house.”
“Of course you’re going to become a rumor.”
“What’s a bear house?”
Apparently Helen hadn’t heard about it.
“You didn’t know?”
“This one rented some land and built a house.”
“And it’s shaped like a bear.”
“On top of that, it appeared before anyone realized it was being built.”
“People have been talking about it ever since.”
“So because I’m the rumored Bear Girl, the lord wants to meet me?”
“That’s about right.”
“The Adventurers Guild, the Merchants Guild, the city gates, and the city guards have probably all sent reports about you.”
“What do you mean reports?”
“The Adventurers Guild probably reported a promising rookie dressed as a bear.”
“The Merchants Guild probably reported the Bear Girl who somehow built a house overnight.”
“The gate guards probably reported your summoned bears.”
“And anyone walking around town dressed like that would naturally get reported by the city watch.”
“When reports keep coming in from all directions, people get curious.”
What was that?
Terrifying.
Didn’t this world have privacy laws?
I was just completing adventurer requests normally.
Building a house with magic.
Using my summoned bears as transportation.
Walking around town in my everyday clothes.
“Can I still refuse?”
“Who knows?”
“Normally, no adventurer refuses a noble’s request.”
“If they want to refuse, they usually leave town.”
“So most people just agree to meet them.”
“What a pain.”
“Come on.”
“It’s probably just curiosity.”
“Why not meet him once and get it over with?”
“If I do go, when am I supposed to meet him?”
“The lord isn’t exactly free all the time, right?”
“Yes.”
“We’ve already been given several available dates.”
“Tomorrow afternoon or any time five days from now.”
“So they already scheduled possible meeting days.”
“Fine.”
“I’ll go meet him.”
In the end, I reluctantly agreed to visit the lord tomorrow afternoon.
I’d completely lost any motivation to work today.
So I bought lunch from a food stall on the way home and returned to the Bear House.