Bear-san Goes To The Ryokan-style Bear House
Author’s note:
There’s an important announcement in the afternote.
The two children were eating Deiga-san’s food happily.
I also became happy, seeing them like this.
While I was eating my meal and looking at the two, Anzu spoke to me.
「So, Yuna-san, what ingredient did you want? Should I prepare it for you?」
Anzu asked.
「I don’t think it’s something that’s being sold, so you might not be able to find it.」
「It isn’t being sold?」
「I have never seen it being sold anywhere, after all.」
「Still, you can find it near this city, right?」
「Yes, I saw some on the mountain.」
「What sort of ingredient is it?」
Deiga-san, who was interested about the ingredient, entered the conversation.
「Bamboo shoots.」
「Bamboo shoots? What are those?」
「Do you know about the bamboos that grow on the mountain? It’s like a green pipe.」
「Well, I know about bamboos at least. How would you be able to eat something that hard?」
When I heard those words, I finally understood.
They didn’t know what bamboos were like before they grew from the earth.
No one had ever thought about digging up the bamboos before they grew.
Likewise, if I didn’t know about it, I wouldn’t think that eating it was possible just by looking at a bamboo.
「That’s not it. I’m talking about the bamboo shoots. The bamboos before they grow.」
「You can eat such a thing?」
「It’s tasty, you know. You can cook it with rice, or just boil it as it is, or even cook it with other ingredients. There are a lot of different ways of eating it.」
My main aim was the Bamboo Shoot Rice.
「Is it difficult to harvest bamboo shoots?」
「It’s difficult, but even children can harvest them if they do their best.」
「Okay, I get it. I will come too!」
Deiga-san said.
「Father!?」
「There’s an ingredient near here that I, a chef, don’t know about. If we knew about it during the time the Kraken was here, it could have become food, you know!」
「You have a point, but what will do you about the inn?」
「It will be okay even if I’m not here for a day.」
「That’s impossible! Big Bro will go to the sea, and it will be impossible to manage all the customers with just mom and me.」
「We will go to harvest it when the sun rises, so it won’t take the whole day.」
「That early?」
「Bamboo shoots taste better if you harvest them in the early hours, after all.」
I told them what I vaguely remembered seeing on a TV program about bamboo shoots.
It had said that it was better to harvest bamboo shoots early in the morning.
It had said that both taste and fragrance were better that way. They turned bitter when the sun shone upon them, so you had to harvest them before the sun rose too high.
「Anzu, I will help you with the morning preparations, and you will take care of breakfast on your own.」
「That’s impossible...」
「You will open a restaurant at Missy’s place, right?」
「That’s true, but...」
「Anything’s an experience.」
「Ugh, will it really be okay with just mom and me? I also want to go and harvest those bamboo shoots. What if I go with Yuna-san and Father prepares breakfast?」
「That’s no good. I will go. As a chef, I won’t permit such a delicious ingredient near me without my knowledge.」
「It’s the same for me...」
「I will go this time. I won’t back down even for the sake of my own daughter. Is that okay with you, Missy?」
「I’m okay, so please don’t fight.」
「Ugh. I understand. I will bear with it this time. Still, Yuna-san, please take me with you next time.」
It was decided that we would meet up with Deiga-san at the entrance of the city when the sun comes up.
「Do I need to take anything with me?」
「We will be digging them up from the ground, so it would be best if you had a hoe, I think? Though, if you come just for the sake of seeing it, I will dig them up using magic.」
「No, as I already told Anzu, I want to experience it myself, so I will dig them up on my own.」
We finished our meals, and since it was almost time for the workers to return to the in after work, we decided to go to the Ryokan-style Bear House.
「Big Sis Yuna, it’s big.」
That was the first thing Fina said when she saw the Ryokan style Bear House.
「I also thought so when I finished making it.」
「Why did you make it this big?」
「I want to bring the orphans here some day, so the number of bedrooms increased a lot...」
「I knew it, Big Sis Yuna, you are really kind. Actually, I was feeling a little guilty that you brought only the two of us while the children at the orphanage are still working. But you are thinking about everyone properly, aren’t you?」
「I don’t have such noble intentions, you know. Everyone is working hard, so... Well, I don’t run a company, but this would still be something like an employee trip.」
「Employee trip?」
「Yep, it’s something to show the people working for me that I’m grateful.」
「Big Sis Yuna, why are you grateful?」
「You are working at my shop, right?」
「That’s wrong. Thanks to you, Big Sis Yuna, we have a place to work, we can eat until we are full, and we have a warm place to sleep, you know. If we weren’t working at your place, we wouldn’t have those things. Mother, everyone at the orphanage, and I are all grateful to you.」
Hmm, it was difficult to explain.
It seemed that Fina thought that giving them a job that made them money, gave them something to eat, and gave them a place to sleep was more than enough already; and that giving them more wasn’t necessary.
So that was the difference in thinking between me, who had grown up in Japan, and Fina, who had grown up in an other world, huh.
「Thanks, but I want to show that I am grateful too.」
I patted Fina’s head.
「You should be tired since we were moving around all day today, right? Hurry up and go in. It seems that Shuri is also tired.」
Behind Fina, Shuri seemed to be nodding off.
「Okay.」
When we entered the Bear House, I showed them the rooms on the first floor.
Shuri woke up. Was she interested in the Bear House?
「If you want to use the toilet or drink water, they’re on this floor, so use them, okay?」
We ignored the second floor, and I brought them to the bedrooms for guests.
「You two, use this room, okay?」
「It’s big.」
「We’ll sleep here?」
「We’ll take a bath first, okay?」
I made all the rooms on the 3rd floor big.
It was only the three of us, so I had the two of them use this room.
「We will wake up early tomorrow, so we should enter the bath now and go to sleep early.」
We headed for the bath on the 4th floor.
I had properly separated men and women’s baths.
We went past the curtain with the word 『Women』 written on it and entered the changing room.
「Undress here, the bath is just over there.」
The two put their clothes in the boxes and went inside the bath.
I also took off the Bear Suit and went after them.
「Waa, so big! We can also see outside!」
Shuri walked around with small steps.
「Huh, Sis Yuna, there’s no hot water inside.」
I also noticed it when Shuri said that. There was no hot water in the bathtub.
Well, that was absolutely normal. Nobody had been using it, and we just came here.
I went to the Bear Statue that poured out water and adjusted the magic stone on the Bear’s hand. When I did that, hot water came out from the Bear’s mouth. The Bear on the opposite side also poured out hot water.
How long will it take for the bath to be filled with water?
It would be great if it was filled while we were washing our bodies.
It wasn’t good to keep standing and do nothing while naked.
「You two, wash your body and hair carefully, okay?」
I told them.
「Shuri, stop looking outside and come here to wash your body.」
Fina took Shuri, who was looking outside, by her hand and went toward the washing area.
I adjusted the temperature of the water pouring out of the Bear mouth and went to the washing area.
As I was scrubbing myself, Fina and Shuri approached me.
「What is it?」
「Big Sis Yuna, your hair is so long and beautiful.」
「Sis Yuna, it’s beautiful.」
They touched my hair.
「It’s just long.」
「I will wash your hair.」
「I will do it too...」
「You don’t need to, really. I can do it myself.」
「We have been in your care, Big Sis Yuna. I didn’t do a lot of things to thank you, so I want to do this at least. Please tell me if it bothers you, though.」
She looked at me innocently. She was too dazzling for my impure heart. I couldn’t refuse when you looked at me with those eyes.
「Okay. Can I count on you then?」
「Of course!」
The two of them happily sat behind me and started to carefully wash my hair.
「How many years does it take for it to become this long?」
I didn’t remember when I had started to let it grow out. I had no interest in taking care of my hair, so it became like this on its own.
「Should I grow my hair long like Big Sis Yuna?」
「I will grow it too...」
Fina asked while touching her own hair.
Shuri declared while raising her hand.
「It’s a pain to take care of, you know.」
We finished washing while having this sort of conversation, and when we went to the bathtub, the hot water had filled up half of it.
The bathtub was big, so if we stretched our legs, it should be okay, right?
Since the three of us were small, we wouldn’t have any problems even with this amount.
I extended my legs and submerged my shoulders.
I knew it, baths where you were able to extend your legs were great.
Fina and Shuri also entered and seemed to enjoy it.
Baths were the mankind’s best invention.
Shuri was playing around; looking outside and putting her hand in the Bear Statue’s mouth that was pouring out hot water. Fina did her best to stop her.
After bathing and relaxing for a while, Shuri said that she wanted to go out.
「Sis, it’s hot.」
Shuri’s face was bright-red.
「Big Sis Yuna, can we go out?」
「Of course. The dryer is in the changing room, so dry your hair carefully, okay?」
「Okay.」
Fina took Shuri’s hand, and they left the bath.
After submerging myself in hot water for a while longer, I also got out.
When I entered the changing room, Fina and Shuri were drying their hair.
Shuri seemed really sleepy.
「Okay, it’s finished.」
「Thanks, Sis.」
Shuri rubbed her eyes. She seemed to be barely standing.
Fina, who was beside her, started drying her own hair.
I wiped my body and put on the White Bear Suit. While I was drying my hair, which went below my waist, Fina came to me.
「Big Sis Yuna, can we go to our room first?」
Shuri, who was behind Fina, was already nodding off.
「Of course. Sleep tight. We will wake up early tomorrow, after all.」
「Okay. Good night.」
「Sis Yuna, good night.」
「Good night.」
Fina took Shuri’s hand, and they left the dressing room.
I dryed my hair alone and went to my room.
I looked outside from the veranda and saw a beautiful, starry sky.
The hikikomori me, who had never went to the sea, only saw this scenery on the TV and the Net. In that moment, I thought it was good that I came to this world.
It was something I would have never seen if I didn’t come to this world and stayed locked up inside.
The night’s wind was cooling down my body that was hot from the bath, and I decided to go to sleep since we would be going out early tomorrow.
In my mind I wished the two, who were in the room beside me, good night, and slipped into my bed.
Author’s note:
I’m sure that there are people who already know about this, but thanks to you all, my book will be published.
I will write all the details in an information report soon.