Chapter 173 – Bear-san Hears About Sheelin
I wasn’t sure if Misa knew these kids, but judging by the fact that she hid behind me...
「Yuna-san...」
「Big Sis Yuna...」
「.........」
Noticing Misa’s behavior, Fina and Noa also grabbed onto my suit. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to move if something were to happen.
「Don’t worry, I’ll protect you no matter what happens. That’s why, just in case if something does happen, please let go of my suit for now.」
They all obediently let go of it.
Things would have definitely gotten messy if I had tried to move around while they were grabbing onto me.
「And here I thought I just saw some weirdly dressed person, but you were standing right next to them, Misana. Are you taking this weird bear out for a walk?」
One of the boys said, making the others laugh.
Crap, it had been a while since I wanted to hit someone so badly.
There would be trouble if I hit a noble, though.
It would be okay if I was the only one who got into trouble, but Gran-san might end up being blamed for it as well. Also, Fina, Noa, and Misa were all here. I couldn’t let them get hurt because of me.
Still laughing, the kids came right up to us, making Misa, who was still hiding behind me, even more frightened. Was she being bullied?
If she was frightened, I had to protect her.
「Can you please not come any closer?」
I asked them.
「What do you think you’re doing?」
「I’m the guard of these children.」
「What’s this, Misana? You have a bear as your guard?!」
The boy and his lackeys laughed again.
This mood was getting quite sickening.
「I guess a bear is pretty strong, right?」
The boy said and laughed even harder.
I didn’t care that he was laughing at me, but him frightening Misa was pissing me off.
She was literally shaking behind me.
I noticed that Noa and Fina were holding her hands to support her.
What good children they were.
Anyway, it would be best to get out of here quickly.
「If you have no business with us, then we’ll be heading off.」
「Wait. I’m talking to Misana right now. Misana, I will be going to Old Man Gran’s party, you know. Why don’t you thank me? Tell me, ‘Thank you very much for attending his party.’」
If he was going to Gran-san’s party then he was a noble for sure.
Gran-san must have it rough if he had to invite such an uneducated brat like him.
「If you would like, I could even come to your birthday party.」
「You don’t have to come.」
「What’s with that attitude? I’m telling you that I will come.」
「You don’t have to come.」
Misa repeats herself, making the boy angry.
「Are you sure you should be saying that? Your family might end up being ruined, you know.」
「.........」
「You should try to get on my good side, you know. Then, even if your family gets ruined, I might consider hiring you as my maid.」
The boy laughed again while Misa just looked down in silence.
I didn’t know what the situation was between them, but this kid was annoying, and Misa was upset.
I had to get her out of here as quickly as possible.
「Everyone, let’s go.」
I ignored the boy and tried to leave.
「Wait. I’m not done talking yet.」
The boy walked over and tried to grab Misa’s arm, but I stood in front of him to prevent him from doing so.
「What are you doing? Move! You’re just a guard wearing a weird outfit, so don’t get in my way!」
「I’m getting in your way because I’m a guard. I will not allow any further insults from you.」
We glared at each other.
「You think you can get away with defying me in this town? Don’t act like you’re a big shot just because you’re some weirdly-dressed guard from the Faren Gramm family. Look, this is what a real guard should look like.」
The boy pointed at the man in the black mantle.
He did look quite strong, especially because of those evil looking eyes of his.
「You aren’t fooling me. How could a girl wearing such a stupid outfit be a real guard? Misana, if you end up at my place, I’ll even consider lending you one of my guards.」
「Big Sis Yuna is strong, so there is no need for that.」
Misa said proudly to defend me.
「What’s so great about this weird girl?!」
「You know, if you can’t even go outside without your wonderful guard, why don’t you just go back crying to your Mommy? ‘Mommy! I can’t even go outside without my guard!’」
I mocked the boy to get back at him.
「You bitch!」
The boy immediately got angry at my provocation.
Wow, his boiling point was pretty low.
Nobody must have ever made fun of him till now, huh.
The boy tried to punch me in his anger, but I stopped his fist with the Bear Hand.
「Dammit, let go!」
The boy tried to pull away, but to no avail.
「Will you let us pass?」
I asked in a more serious tone.
「Shut up! Blood!」
When the boy called out, the man in the black mantle quickly moved forward to attack. He was faster than I had expected, so I had to let the boy’s hand go to evade him.
The boy lost his balance and fell onto his back, making the girls behind me laugh.
It must have looked funny to his lackeys, too, since they also burst out laughing.
「You bitch!」
「It’s not my fault. If you have a complaint, tell him. He suddenly tried to strike me. Also, didn’t you order him to attack me yourself?」
The man in black tried to help the boy up, but he shook away his hand and got up on his own.
「Blood, do something about this weird bear!」
「Randall-sama, look around you.」
The guard warned the boy.
Because of all the commotion, people began to gather around us.
When the boy noticed them, he became frustrated.
「Tch, we’re leaving.」
He told his followers then looked at me.
「Don’t think you’ll be let off easily for going against me.」
He said and finally left.
Oh, did he just threaten us like all villains did before they left!?
What was with his group of lackeys, though? They must also be somehow related to Misa for sure.
As we watched them leave, I felt Misa grab my suit again.
「They left, so everything’s okay now.」
In order for her to calm down, we found a bench and rested for a while.
「What’s wrong with that guy? Acting all smug like that.」
「He is Randall, from the Salbert family. They are the lords of this town.」
Noa answered my question.
I knew it, he was a noble.
Well, if he had gotten invited to Gran-san’s party, he had to be a child of someone important.
He was the type of noble I had imagined before meeting Cliff. A cheeky and self-centered type of person. I hated people like him the most.
Still, a son of a lord, huh.
「I thought that the lord of this town was Gran-san.」
「That’s right, grandpa is also a lord.」
「Uhh, can a town have two lords?」
This was the first time I heard of a town having two lords.
I had never heard of anything like that back in my world.
「I don’t know much about it, but a long time ago, both families were awarded this territory for their contribution to the war, and since they got well together, they just split it equally. But, as time passed, their relationship worsened, bringing us to the situation of today.」
Noa explained to me.
A town having two lords still seemed weird to me.
Like, who took care of maintenance? Who collected the taxes?
There had most likely been no problems when they had been getting along, but now that their relationship has worsened?
They must be fighting over money for sure.
「I’m surprised they can run the town like this.」
「That’s because grandpa governs the east side, while the Salbert family governs the west.」
「You mean this town is split in two parts?」
Misa nodded.
Could they really do that?
Well, it seemed like they could, since the town was functioning like that. What an idiotic arrangement.
Had the king been stupid back then?
How could he have let two families run the same town just because they had happened to get along?
As time passed, relationships changed. There was no guarantee that their children would get along as well, especially when succession of town’s assets was on the line.
When I had first met Misa, things had already seemed to be going poorly for her family. I was glad that I hadn’t ended up in this town instead of Crimonia when I had first came into this world.
Yeah, thank God I had met Fina in the forest. If I had just walked in a different direction, I might have ended up here.
I patted Fina’s head.
「Eh, Big Sis Yuna?!」
Fina was surprised by my sudden patting, but I ignored her and continued our conversation.
「Just because he’s the lord’s son doesn’t mean he can be rude to you.」
「I hate him. He always says mean things to me.」
This was the first time I heard Misa using strong language like that.
Well, he was cocky enough to demand appreciation for him attending a party.
The problem probably laid with how his parents had educated him. I shivered, knowing that such nobles existed.
「He attacks you like this every time?」
「Yes, and it’s gotten worse lately. As soon as he sees me, he starts insulting Father, Mother, and Grandpa.」
When he had noticed Misa earlier, he had indeed had the look of a bully noticing his target.
I could tell that he had a bad personality just by looking at his face.
「And a guy like that has been invited to Gran-san’s party?」
「Yes, because he’s still the son of this town’s lord. Grandpa didn’t like the fact he had to invite him, either.」
Relationships between nobles were just so difficult, having to invite people they didn’t want coming.
Hmm, this wasn’t limited just to the noble society, was it? When you wanted to hang out with your friends, there were times when you had to invite people you didn’t want to. I had never had this problem, of course.
The same was true in the workplace, judging from what I had seen in dramas and movies.
Even though it was important to socialize, it was was just so troublesome, having to invite people you didn’t like, just to keep your connections.
「Were the children with him nobles as well?」
The boys and girls who were following Randall also laughed at Misa, so they must be mean as well, right?
「I think they’re the children of this town’s merchants.」
「Merchant’s children?」
「Yeah, I always see them together.」
Did that mean that they were there to flatter him?
What a sad life, having to sell themselves out on flattery at such a young age. They would have to bow down to him for the rest of their lives.
It was the same with my world, though. When you went to school, you had to bow down to your upperclassmen. When you went to work, you had to bow down to your superiors. It was never any different; you had to sell yourself out by flattering those stronger than you to lead an easy life.
I had become a hikikomori so that I hadn’t needed to struggle with impressing my seniors.
Yeah, shutting yourself in was indeed the best way to avoid dealing with those types of troublesome, hierarchical relationships.
I bet the parents of those merchant children did the same.
I could almost see the gaudy merchants borrowing the power of a lord to earn money illegally.
Conversations like ‘What a cunning fellow you are,’ followed by ‘Oh no, not as much as you, my lord,’ must be a daily occurence to them.
Anyway, back to the problem at hand. I was also curious about that inexcusable statement he had made. Something about Faren Gramm family getting ruined soon.
I was curious, but I also hesitated to ask Misa something as delicate as that.
At this point I honestly didn’t care for food anymore. What should we do, then?
「What do you want to do now? Want to go home for the day?」
「I’m okay.」
Misa said with a smile, but she couldn’t deceive me. It might have just been a fight between children, but I should probably talk to Gran-san about this. Dealing with nobles should be left to nobles, after all.
If it had been a monster, I would have taken care of it myself, but this...
Still, if we headed back now, Misa would feel responsible for it and blame herself for ruining a fun sightseeing.
「Okay, let’s go wander around some more before heading home, then.」
「Okay.」
「Great.」
「Thank you, Big Sis Yuna.」
The three of them replied happily.
In order to cheer Misa up, I decided to hit some food stalls after all.
「Big Sis Yuna, are you sure we can have these?」
「Don’t worry about the money. Uncle, give us four skewers!」
I gave a skewer to each of them.
「Thank you.」
The three of them seemed to enjoy eating them.
I also got us some drinks to go with our skewers. Ah, this was such a bliss. If we just hadn’t ran into that noble idiot, we would have had a great time. I didn’t say that out loud of course, so Misa wouldn’t get sad.
Fina and Noa didn’t mention what happened, either. They really were raised well.
Although we didn’t really look around much, Misa seemed to be in a better mood, so we decided to head back.