Chapter 544:
The Bear Is Captured by the Girl
NOA AND I WALKED TOGETHER while looking out over the lake. The weather was great, and so was the view. The lakeside was beautiful. Boats were out on the water, and it looked like you could even rent one yourself if you wanted. It seemed like a fun town. A lot of other people were looking out at the lake, just like us. No one even paid any attention to me.
I didn’t get stares when I wasn’t wearing the bear onesie. I was wearing my bear shoes and glove puppets, but no one paid much attention to that. So long as they didn’t get too close, my puppets probably just looked like black and white blobs I was holding. Nobody would expect them to have bear faces on them. And people barely looked at shoes in the first place, so no one would notice those either.
“What’s wrong, Yuna? Let’s hurry.”
While I was scanning our surroundings, Noa had pulled ahead of me. She turned back to talk to me.
“Noa, you should watch where you’re walking.”
“I’m all righ... Ah!”
The moment I warned her, Noa tripped She tried to regain her balance by planting her feet on the ground. I quickly reached out to steady her, but she fell backward, away from me.
“Careful!”
Just as Noa was about to fall to the ground, a girl in a school uniform appeared. I thought Noa was about to crash into her, but she caught Noa instead. Thanks to her, Noa was spared a rough landing.
“Walking without watching where you’re going is dangerous.”
“I’m sorry.”
Noa pulled away from the girl’s arms as she apologized. The girl who caught Noa was about the same age as me and Shia, though she wasn’t wearing the uniform of the capital academy. Maybe she was one of Yufaria’s students?
“It’s good that you’re spirited, but a young lady ought to be better mannered,” she said.
“I’m sorry.”
Noa shrunk down into herself. The girl looked her over.
“Have we...met before?”
Noa looked back at her. They both moved closer together until they were staring each other square in the face. Noa was the first one to speak.
“Lady Seleiyu?”
“It was Noir, wasn’t it?”
They both knew each other’s names. I guess they were acquainted, then.
“It’s been so long, Lady Seleiyu.”
“It has. Now, what are you doing in a place like this, Noir? Oh, did you come to support Shia?” Seleiyu had apparently answered her own question.
“Yes, I came here to support my sister in the magic exchange program between the academies. Oh, Yuna, let me introduce you. This is Lady Seleiyu of the Forinth family, the family which rules this town.”
Noa gave me some background on the girl. Apparently, she was the daughter of this town’s feudal lord. I guess nobles really did run in the same circles.
“I am Seleiyu.”
“I’m Yuna.”
We introduced ourselves.
“So you’re a student from the capital who came here for the magic gathering? I believe the others are practicing in the academy. What are you doing out by the lake? And why are you with Noir?”
“Uh, well...”
I wasn’t really sure what to say. Seleiyu had put me on the spot. Since I was wearing a capital school uniform, she must have thought that I was part of the exchange. For one, I wasn’t. I wasn’t even a student. But I couldn’t exactly come clean when I was clearly wearing a uniform, and I couldn’t really lie to her either, which left me tongue-tied. Luckily, Noa came to my rescue.
“Yuna is Shia’s friend. She won’t be participating in the meeting, but she wanted to support Shia, so she brought me too.”
“Do you mean you came here separately from Shia? Or did you come here with Lady Ellelaura?”
“No, Mother isn’t here. Yuna and I came here ourselves. Yuna is my escort—she is very capable.”
Seleiyu looked at me with surprise.
“Pardon me, but how old are you? Fourteen? Or perhaps thirteen?”
“I’m fifteen.”
“Fifteen?!”
She seemed even more surprised when I said that. I may have been shorter than the average fifteen-year-old, but that didn’t change my age.
“I’d like to confirm something. You truly are not participating in the magic gathering?”
“Um, that’s right.”
Seleiyu scowled and then looked at Noa. “So essentially, you have no aptitude with magic?” Her eyebrows were knitted as she told Noa off. “Noir, you must be more careful. You’re putting yourselves in danger by traveling with just her. Even though you are young, you’re still a noble. You must understand your position. Did Lady Ellelaura and Lord Cliff approve of you coming here with her as your only escort?”
“Yes. In fact, they gave their permission specifically because I was going with Yuna.”
“You’re not lying?”
“Shia knows too, so I think she can confirm what I’m saying right now.”
It was true, which was why Noa sounded so confident. To be fair, we hadn’t specifically gotten Ellelaura’s permission, but we had gotten Cliff’s.
Seleiyu looked at me quizzically.
“Either way, I can’t allow you to continue like this. Noir, come to my house and allow me to escort you. I cannot allow let you go on alone.”
Seleiyu started to decide things for us without even asking. It wasn’t like Noa was alone—she had me as a guard, after all. But apparently, I wasn’t a real guard in this girl’s eyes. I thought not being in my bear onesie would help, but it seemed people couldn’t take me seriously even when I was wearing a school uniform.
“Lady Seleiyu, thank you for your concern. However, I do not need a guard. Yuna is more powerful than anyone, and she can protect me better than anyone else could.”
Noa looked at me with trusting eyes. Of course I would protect her.
“I understand that you trust this girl, Noir. By the same token, please understand that I cannot. You are the Fochrosés’ daughter. I cannot fathom why Lady Ellelaura would entrust her own daughter to a student instead of a trained guard.”
Well, that was harsh. I wasn’t even dressed as a bear this time. To be fair, if I had been dressed in my usual outfit, she probably wouldn’t have trusted me either. She might have been even more brutal.