Chapter 189 – Bear-san Wears A Dress!
The day of the party came. I was cornered, with no way to escape.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would come to this.
I had been betrayed by the ones I trusted most. No longer would I be able to believe in anyone.
With my mind reeling from the shock of the betrayal, I was unable to find a way out.
The traitors closed in on me. There was no time to think.
「Okay, Yuna-san. We’ve prepared a dress for you, so let’s get you all dressed up.」
If it had been Mylene-san or Eleanora-san, I would have ran off even if I had to shake them, but it was Misa’s tenth birthday today, and the one approaching me with a beautiful dress in her hands was a ten-year-old girl.
「Noa, let’s talk first. We just have to talk this out.」
「The Bear-san outfit matches you greatly, but since it’s Misa’s party today, you should wear a dress.」
Noa took another step toward me, with a black and white dress in her hands.
Apparently, Fina and Noa picked out the dress together. They said they picked it because the colors matched Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.
It certainly was a beautiful dress, I couldn’t deny that.
If I was back in my former world, and I had to choose between wearing a Bear Suit and a beautiful dress, I would, without a doubt, choose the dress. I was a girl, after all. Although just slightly, I wanted to try wearing that beautiful dress.
Though, I wasn’t sure if I had the courage to take off my Bear Suit at this point...
A normal girl would be happy to wear such a pretty dress. If only I was normal...
「Fina, why didn’t you say anything?」
Well, even if she had warned me in advance, I wouldn’t have known how to respond.
It would have given me some time to think about it at least, though.
「Because you had left me and had gone home by yourself, Big Sis Yuna.」
She was talking about the time I had ditched her at Noa’s place when Noa had dragged her off to make her try on dresses.
「Also, Noa-sama had told me to keep it a secret since she wanted to surprise you on the day of the party. She was sure it would make you happy.」
It was true, any normal girl would be happy to receive such a surprise.
They didn’t know how many times they would get the chance to wear a dress in their life, and I was sure they would happy to hear that they got the opportunity to wear such a pretty dress.
However, I was so used to wearing my Bear Suit at this point that I would be embarrassed if I were to suddenly wear a pretty dress.
「Yuna-san, won’t you wear it for our sakes?」
「Try it on at least to see if it will even fit you.」
I wore my Bear Suit all the time, so they shouldn’t know what my sizes were, right?
I kept my three sizes top secret. Nobody knew them.
「Don’t worry, Lala-san judged your height, and I confirmed your sizes when we were in the bath together.」
The bath? When?
I had gone to the bath with Noa only recently.
Ah, she was talking about the time during the king’s birthday party!
That being said, there was no way she could have known my sizes just from seeing me out of my Bear Suit that one time.
How many months ago was that? People normally forgot such things after several months had passed.
I was sure that I grew during that time, and my weight... must not have changed at all! Well, maybe my breasts grew a bit, but...
「I also confirmed it during our bath yesterday, and it didn’t seem like your body changed much, so it should be fine.」
Noa proudly said and smiled.
A child’s innocent declaration could hurt a lot, you know.
I just received some real emotional damage.
If things continued like this, I was most likely going to faint before the party even began.
「Why are you so against it? It will surely make Misa happy.」
「Ugh.」
「Also, you’re very pretty, so a dress like this will match your looks perfectly.」
「...」
「Fina, you also want to see her wear a dress, right?」
「Yes!」
Fina looked at me with eyes that were telling me,「I will be wearing a dress, so please wear one, too.」
Escaping this room would be easy but doing so would make it difficult for me to attend the party.
I had to go to Misa’s party because I didn’t want to be rude to her as she went through the trouble of sending me an invitation, so running away was not really an option. Ugh, there was no escape!
「O-okay, fine. I only have one condition, though.」
As my last resort, I gave Noa my terms, who reluctantly accepted them.
Thus, we all changed into our dresses.
Just like the other day, I again thought how cute Noa and Misa looked in their dresses, but when I looked at Fina, I realized she didn’t lose to them in terms of cuteness.
Noa wore a red dress, Misa wore blue, and Fina wore light green.
While Noa and Misa were used to wearing dresses and walked around confidently, Fina was trying to make herself look smaller due to embarrassment.
「Uuu, this is embarrassing.」
I was the one who should be embarrassed.
I was wearing a black and white dress, the sizes of which matched me perfectly. How could they have figured out my sizes just by looking at me? Not to mention, it fitting perfectly meant that I hadn’t grown at all.
「Yuna-san, it matches you so well! You look very pretty!」
Noa complimented me, but I still felt awkward.
Even in my former world, I had never worn a dress. How many girls my age had worn a party dress anyway? I was pretty sure there probably weren’t any.
I looked at the mirror and got even more embarrassed.
Maybe it was because I saw myself wearing something I wasn’t used to. I honestly didn’t think that the dress fit me at all.
「Yuna-san, your long, black hair is pretty, so it really goes well with the white and black dress.」
Noa’s golden hair seemed much more beautiful to me, though.
Honestly, even though Noa complimented me, I wondered what other people would think of me?
It was difficult to judge myself.
「Uuu, Big Sis Yuna is pretty, but I don’t think such a pretty dress suits me.」
Fina was even harsher on herself than I. Well, I thought that Fina was more suited for wearing dresses, so I decided to try to make Fina feel better about herself.
「Fina, unlike me, you’re cute, so it suits you just fine.」
「No, you’re the cute one, Big Sis Yuna.」
Now both of us were even more embarrassed.
We should just stop trying to compliment each other for now.
「Both of you look good, so don’t worry. I bet Mother and Father will be surprised, too.」
Right, other people would see me wearing this, as well. Sorry, Misa, but I really wanted to go home right now, and Fina looked like she was thinking the same thing.
I gave up, returned to where I left my Bear Suit, and put on the Bear Shoes and the Bear Gloves.
「Yuna-san, you’re really putting those on?」
That was the condition I had made for wearing the dress.
I had agreed to put on the dress as long as I could wear my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves.
And, this was how I ended up wearing a black and white dress, accompanied by my Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves.
I was too afraid to look myself in the mirror now. I knew, without even looking, that I must look weird.
Ever since I had come to this world, I had worn my Bear Suit twenty-four-seven. I depended on it too much, which was why I was reluctant to completely part from it.
Even with only the gloves and shoes on, I still couldn’t stay calm.
This was how some players played the game. They wielded a really strong weapon while wearing paper-thin armor. Those players always got demolished while doing quests.
I completely felt like one of them right now. I still couldn’t understand why those players liked to use that kind of build, even though they just died from taking one hit... Must be the difference between games and reality.
I gently patted my strongest piece of equipment (the Bear Costume) before transferring it into the Bear Box.
Once everyone was ready, we headed to the party hall.
It was a different hall from the one where Gran-san’s party had been held.
That was because there were less attendants since the party was for friends and family only.
It was mainly just Misa’s family, the Foschuroze family, and the people who worked for Gran-san.
By the time we entered the hall, quite a few people had already gathered inside, including Cliff and Eleanora-san.
「Oh my, Yuna-chan. You’re wearing a really cute outfit today.」
Yes, and it was all thanks to her daughter.
「Still, umm, what’s with your hands and feet?」
Cliff was shocked when he noticed I was also wearing my Bear Gloves and Bear Shoes.
I knew it looked weird; he didn’t have to point it out...
「Father, you feel the same way, huh. Yuna-san said that she would only wear the dress if she is allowed to keep her Bear-san hands and feet. She is so pretty in the dress, too; it’s such a waste.」
They could say whatever they wanted, but I wasn’t taking them off.
I couldn’t use magic if I didn’t have the Bear Gloves equipped, and I couldn’t jump around quickly without the Bear Shoes on my feet.
The Bear Suit would protect me from any surprise attacks, but, as long as that didn’t happen, the Bear Shoes and Bear Gloves were enough to deal with pretty much everything, and that was why I couldn’t bear part from them.
On the side note, I couldn’t run at all without the Bear Shoes. I had never ran since elementary school, so I was pretty sure that if I didn’t wear the Bear Shoes, the girls would completely leave me behind in a race.
I thought that the children at the orphanage were amazing, being able to chase the cluckers all day long.
「Anyway, it feels really odd not seeing you in your bear suit.」
I felt the same way; I just couldn’t stay calm without it.
「Still, the dress suits you very well. I’m sure that once the boys get a look at you, marriage proposals will come flying your way.」
No, they wouldn’t. Also, I didn’t want to receive them, either.
「Forget about me. You should compliment your daughter instead.」
「Of course, Noa and Fina-chan are cute, but seeing you wear a dress is more shocking.」
I sighed and looked for a place to sit, but I wasn’t sure where I could go.
I had never been to a noble’s party, so I didn’t know if there were any seating arrangements. As I was in the middle of worrying about it, Meshun-san approached me.
「Yuna-sama and Fina-sama, please take your seats over there.」
Okay, so there was a seating arrangement. Oh, now that I looked more closely, it was arranged so the families were sitting together.
First came the Foschuroze family, then there was the Faren Gramm family, and next to them were Fina and I. Then, just a little further away, came all the people who worked at the mansion.
Fina and I took our seats and waited for the party to officially begin.
Hmm, dresses felt quite chilly to wear. My Bear Suit was able to adjust my body temperature, so I never had to worry about it. Not to mention, this dress was short, so it made sense for my legs to feel a bit chilly.
I missed my Bear Suit already, even though I had just taken it off.
After some time had passed, Gran-san, Misa’s parents, and Misa herself entered the room.
Gran-san took a look around the room, and his gaze stopped on me.
「Oh, it’s Yuna. I almost didn’t recognize you.」
He should have recognized me sooner.
I wasn’t even covering myself with my Bear Hoodie.
「Big Sis Yuna, you’re so pretty.」
「Thanks.」
I thanked Misa for her genuine compliment; children’s honest opinions always made me happy.
Now that everybody was seated, the party began.
Author’s Note:
Finally, after 740,000 characters, we got Yuna to take off her costume and put on a dress.
I wanted her to wear something different before we get to the rumored swimsuit event, which brings us to this chapter.
Oh, the swimsuit event? It won’t come for a while longer.