Chapter 553:
The Bear Listens to Noa’s Request
NOA AND I STAKED OUT a spot where we’d have a clear view of Shia. I saw students from Yufaria and the capital around the grounds along with people who must have been their family. This was exactly like an away game from my old world. The Yufarian students and teachers had even set up chairs at the outskirts of the grounds. I really wanted Shia and the other capital students to do their best.
“They could have prepped enough seats for everyone…” I grumbled.
“They haven’t opened it up to the general public, so this was the best they could do. Plus, if they opened it to everyone, everyone would be cheering for Yufaria, so I think that’s why they haven’t.”
Right, of course. In my old world, the Olympics was always packed with people cheering for the host country. Traveling to a faraway country was hard.
“Well, if they don’t have chairs for us, might as well prep our own.”
I pulled two chairs out of my bear storage and invited Noa to sit.
“Thank you.”
As we sat and watched the grounds, an opening ceremony of sorts began. The teachers were all giving speeches to the students. Show off the abilities you have, learn from each other to become better people, and even if you lose because your skills weren’t good enough, there’s always next year. It was all so unnecessarily long.
Weren’t there people who are going to be graduating this year, or next year, who won’t be able to compete next year? Naturally, there were people here who were older than Shia. They must have been the upperclassmen. One was pretty well developed, and I couldn’t help but compare my body to hers.
Finally, the teachers finished their long speeches, and the event kicked off. One of the teachers headed to the middle of the grounds and used magic to create a pole out of the ground. Then they put a rectangular target on top of it.
“Ah, they’re going to aim their spells at that.”
It’d be convenient to make targets out of dirt using magic. Even after they were broken, more magic could be used to create them over and over again.
The teacher made targets at regular intervals and varied their distances and heights. Then, once the prep work was done, someone announced that they were going to start target practice using wind magic. They were competing to see how many targets they could hit and how far their spells could reach.
“This event is supposed to test how accurate and strong their magic is at a distance,” Noa explained.
The girls from Yufaria started first. It seemed as though they were conjuring wind blades as the targets started to break. A demure cheer rang out around them. A girl had hit the first and second targets and was performing pretty well until she missed the fifth. It seemed like they were allowed to keep going as long as they hadn’t run out of time, though, so she summoned up some more wind blades. But her spells’ accuracy and power really diminished at a distance. In the end, she only could hit five of the targets. The first target was about ten meters away, and the next one was two meters farther out. The girl from Yufaria maxed out at the target 18 meters away.
Next it was the capital girls’ turn. Apparently, they were alternating between the schools. A student from the capital nailed the sixth target before time ran out. She was ecstatic.
The teacher fixed up the broken targets, and then it was the boys’ turn.
“Aww, I want to learn how to use magic too,” Noa said, seeming very jealous of the students who were competing.
“Actually, aren’t you going to be doing that soon, Noa? You can learn once you turn ten, can’t you?”
I remembered finding that out at the academy festival. Since mana tended to stabilize around peoples’ tenth birthday in this world, that was when most kids learned magic. Supposedly it was because if someone tried to gather mana before they had stabilized or tried to use magic, in some cases it’d affect their ability to use magic later in life.
“Yes, I’d like to learn soon, but Father said I can’t start until I turn eleven. He wants to make sure that my mana is fully stabilized first.”
“In other words, the older you are, the more stabilized your mana is?”
“That’s right. You use magic, don’t you, Yuna? Shouldn’t you know that already?”
“Uh, well...”
Apparently, I was asking basic questions. And on top of that, basic questions I should know the answers to since I was already using magic.
“I learned magic on my own, so I don’t know anything about that stuff.”
“Really? Your mother and father didn’t teach you?”
“They’re not around. I didn’t have anyone to teach me magic.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. My parents really weren’t around in this world. Also, even if I had parents here or something, it wasn’t like they were the ones who taught me how to use magic. I learned from NPCs in the game I used to play.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you didn’t have parents.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I didn’t tell you, so you couldn’t have known.”
Noa looked sad, so I quickly reassured her. She’d misunderstood, but I couldn’t exactly tell her that my parents were alive and well in another world. I had to be vague.
“You’re amazing, Yuna. I can’t believe no one taught you.”
I felt a little guilty, but there was nothing for it. For the first time in a while, I was forced to use my secret technique: changing the subject.
“Actually, when’s your birthday, Noa?” I asked, which made Noa brighten up.
“It’s actually very soon.”
“Really?!”
“Yes, and I’m so looking forward to it.”
“Then I need to get a present ready for you. Do you want anything? Oh, but you can’t ask for anything that’s impossible to get. Like, don’t ask me for Kumayuru or Kumakyu.”
I couldn’t give her my bears, of course.
“I couldn’t do that. I would love to have Kumayuru and Kumakyu, of course, but if I asked for them, I know you would be upset with me.”
Noa puffed her cheeks up.
“Sorry, just joking.”
I was half serious though. I thought it was something Noa might have asked for.
“Well, since you offered, I do have something to ask for. Will you teach me magic?” Noa said after some thought.
“Magic?”
“Yes, though of course only if Father gives his permission. And it won’t need to be every day either. Just when you have spare time.”
Magic, huh? Well, I was already teaching it to a rookie adventurer. But already had some experience, so I was just teaching her how to become more powerful. She did seem to be happy with her improvement, so I assumed I was doing something right. But I didn’t know whether I could teach magic to a newbie from scratch. What if I taught her badly and Noa lost the ability to use magic? I wasn’t sure I could safely teach her when she hadn’t used magic before.
“Sorry. I don’t know if that’s a promise I can make.”
“I see.”
Noa’s face fell. She looked deflated.
“It’s not that I don’t want to teach you, I’m just not sure if I can. Setting that aside, is there anything else you’d like?”
“Uhh. In that case, I’d like giant Kumayuru and Kumakyu stuffed bears.”
“Like this big?”
I held my hands out slightly bigger than my bears in their cub size.
“No. I would like stuffed animals of Kumayuru and Kumakyu in their bear forms.”
Noa stretched her arms out and tried to use her whole body to show how big she meant.
So she wanted full, life-size recreations of my bears, then.
“Uh, that seems pretty big.”
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It was huge, even in my imagination. I wondered how many times bigger they would have to be compared to Misa’s presents. A ton of fabric and cotton would be needed, and it would also probably be a pain to even have around at that size.
If she lived in a normal house, that might be a valid concern. But since Noa was a noble, her house was anything but normal. It was even bigger than the other noble estates because her family controlled the fief. Naturally, Noa’s room was big too. Noa’s room could hold two scale bears with room to spare.
“When I saw you give Misa bears stuffed animals for her birthday party, I knew I had to have large stuffed animals of them. If it costs too much, I’ll use my own allowance to help. Please?”
“An allowance? Nobles get allowances?”
I thought that nobles would just tell their parents what they wanted and have it bought for them.
“I’m to learn the price of the things sold in town, so I receive a set amount as an allowance with which to shop.”
Then she added in a whisper, “But lately the only thing I’ve bought is the breads at your shop...” Then she averted her eyes.
Right, she did like to visit on her own to eat bread. I guess she’d been using her allowance this whole time. Actually, that made sense now that she mentioned it. I’d seen her in town studying price tags before.
“So that’s why you were so interested in knowing the prices of things here.”
“Yes, because I will need to report back to Father about what I saw in Yufaria. If I don’t, he won’t let me travel like this again.”
I started to pat Noa’s head without even thinking about it.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“I was just thinking about what a good kid you are.”
“I’m only doing it so I can go out with you and Fina.”
Even still, the praise was well-deserved.
“If money is a problem, please just say the word,” Noa said.
“Don’t worry about how much the stuffed animals cost. It’s more that the process of making them will be difficult.”
Especially for Sherry, since she’d be the one doing the work.
“Yes, right. Then I can help too!”
Noa thought for a bit, then something seemed to occur to her.
“If you help, it won’t be a present anymore.”
“That’s all right,” Noa insisted.
I needed to pump the brakes on this project. I couldn’t make the decision on my own. First, I needed to talk to Sherry. If she agreed to help make the stuffed animals, then it’d be a bonding experience. We would all make good memories making stuffed animals together. I saw no downsides. I decided to mark the stuffed animals as a legit possibility for Noa’s present.
Come to think of it, when was Fina’s birthday?