“Is that your uniform?”
Noa was indeed holding a bear uniform from the Bear’s Lounge. So she had one of those after all?
Back during Misa’s birthday party, Kumayuru and Kumakyu had paraded through the town. The townspeople had been scared of them, so Noa, Fina, Misa and I put on a performance to show they weren’t dangerous. The three girls had worn uniforms from my shop.
This must have been the same one she’d been wearing back then.
“Yes. I sometimes sleep in it. But Father and Lala scold me if I attempt to wear it during the day.”
Well, of course they would. I’d expect a telling off would be the minimum punishment for a daughter of the nobility dressing like a bear.
Noa pulled off her cute nightdress and started changing into the bear clothes.
“The colors are different, but we’re in matching bear outfits!”
Noa seemed very pleased.
“Yuna, what about Kumayuru and Kumakyu?”
I doubted we were in any danger here, but I couldn’t guarantee something wouldn’t happen again, like with Misa. Life was full of the unexpected, after all. Like powering on a video game and being sent off into a new world wearing a bear suit. Or a dragon showing up while we slept. Kumayuru and Kumakyu would tell me if anything dangerous turned up, as long as they were around. And if I recalled them in the morning, Seleiyu wouldn’t see them.
I summoned Kumayuru and Kumakyu in their cub forms. Noa happily latched on to Kumayuru. When I picked up Kumakyu, my bear let out a happy croon.
Right then, we heard a knock at the door. And it swung open.
“Pardon me, Noa and Yuna.”
It was Seleiyu. She had barged in before I could say anything.
“Yuna, what is that outfit? You as well, Noa? And are you both carrying bears in your arms?”
Seleiyu was in shock, staring at the bear cubs we were cuddling. It was all too late now...
“Um...”
Sometimes shock could steal the words right out of you. Seleiyu approached me and reached out to Kumakyu.
“I-it’s so cute. How did they get here? They weren’t here earlier, were they?”
Seleiyu patted Kumakyu’s head.
“These are bears, aren’t they? I’ve never seen a white bear before.”
She was all smiles as she patted Kumakyu’s head, then stole Kumayuru from Noa and squeezed it. Noa and I stared at her in awe as she did whatever she pleased with my bears.
“...”
“...”
“I’m very sorry. I love cute animals, and I acted rashly. Please forget I did that.”
Seleiyu looked a little embarrassed as she came back to her senses. She blushed.
“So can you explain this to me?”
She looked at my bears. Since they had already been seen, there was no point in hiding it. I explained to Seleiyu that they were summons I could call at any time. I figured it’d be a more trouble than it was worth to try and hide it now, so I also told her they could get bigger and that we had ridden them here from Crimonia.
“You rode here on bears...?”
“They’re very fast, and comfortable too” Noa said proudly.
I showed Seleiyu how the pair of them looked full-sized.
“They’re so adorable. If you had such amazing summons that could shrink and grow in size, you could have mentioned that from the start. Then I wouldn’t have...”
As Seleiyu talked, she looked at Kumakyu in my arms.
“So why have you summoned them?”
“Just to sleep together.”
I couldn’t exactly tell her it was a safeguard against danger. It wasn’t exactly a lie either, since I always summoned them at night.
“I understand the bears now, But what about those clothes?”
“Well...”
What to do? Should I tell her the truth? Or play it off like they were just pajamas?
“I’m wearing them because I like them. Yuna and I each love bears,” Noa helpfully said for me.
“You do, do you?”
My bears both crooned at us.
Seleiyu gave me a once-over. Kumayuru and Kumakyu looked at me with their round little eyes, like they were waiting for my answer too. Well, I’d come to like bears at this point, especially because of Kumayuru and Kumakyu. But I could already anticipate the mental damage I’d take telling Seleiyu, who I’d only just met that day, that I was wearing a bear suit because I was a bear otaku.
When I looked at Kumayuru and Kumakyu though, I couldn’t write it off as a joke. If I lied, it’d hurt my bears’ feelings. So there was only one way I could respond.
“I like bears...”
My bears crooned happily at me.
“Ah, so that’s why you wear the bear gloves too?”
Seleiyu seemed to have put it all together.
“I understand how you feel, Yuna. It’s my first time seeing bears up close. They’re simply adorable.”
Her face softened as she glanced at Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
“So you two like bears, and that is the reason you dress this way. However, other people may be shocked if they see this, so please change in the morning and recall your summons.”
I’d been planning on doing that anyway, but was the bear outfit really that outlandish? Maybe...part of me had been expecting to wear my bear onesie tomorrow. Definitely cursed, I tell you.
“So why did you come by, Seleiyu?”
“Oh yes. I wanted to speak to you about tomorrow. I have class, so I will be going to the academy. You both plan to go to the academy to see Shia as well, don’t you?”
Yep, we were going to meet her at the entrance to the academy.
“I simply came here to say we should all go together. Well, if you’ll excuse me. You should get to sleep soon too.”
“Yes, goodnight, Lady Seleiyu.”
Seleiyu headed to the door. But suddenly, as if she were remembering something, she turned around, patted each of my bears, and left the room without another word, looking like she was on cloud nine.