Shia seemed happy to hear our reassurance.
“It means the world to hear that, but at the same time, Seleiyu is stretching herself thin by entering all the events.”
“You’re right. Looking at the overall standings, nobody’s going to be able to catch Seleiyu.”
“Lady Seleiyu is amazing, but if Yuna participated, I think she would win.”
“Yes, if Yuna entered, then no one else would have any hope of winning.”
“Well, I can’t simply ignore that, now, can I?”
We turned to see that Seleiyu had been eavesdropping on us.
“Lady Seleiyu?!”
Noa seemed very shocked to see her.
“Listen Noa, I lost to Yuna in sword fighting, but I wouldn’t lose to her in magic. Yuna wasn’t selected for this gathering anyway, so her magical abilities must not be as good as the other students.”
Noa seemed uncertain what to say to Seleiyu. It was a tricky situation, since I wasn’t a student. She could probably tell her I wasn’t a student in the capital though. I wasn’t sure if she realized that or if she hadn’t thought it through, but Shia butted in.
“Well, of course not. Yuna isn’t a capital student.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. Yuna is powerful, but she’s not a capital student, so she can’t participate.”
“So why is she wearing a capital uniform then?”
Seleiyu looked at me. Yup, I was wearing a capital uniform all right.
“I thought that she wouldn’t be able to get into the academy with her regular clothes. I asked her to wear the uniform.”
“Her regular clothes? No matter what clothes she was wearing, surely they would have allowed her in as your acquaintance?”
Yeah, that would have been true if I had been wearing normal clothes. Seleiyu didn’t seem to understand Shia’s deeper meaning.
“Well, that’s true. But, um, I just thought this would be the easiest way to get her inside without any trouble. This way we could avoid being asked questions or having to explain things.”
“Is her outfit so odd that she would be questioned and need to provide an explanation? Don’t tell me...she’s normally in the nude?!”
“No!” I shut her down immediately.
Why was she guessing that out of nowhere? What kind of person would walk around outside butt naked anyway? Only a pervert, that’s who. I didn’t think anyone could come up with something more embarrassing than my bear onesie.
“Um, Lady Seleiyu, Yuna wears her bear outfit outside.”
Noa had spilled the beans. Well, it wasn’t like I’d been hiding it anyway. Everyone in Crimonia knew, and I even walked around in my onesie around the capital. It was just that I didn’t want to give Shia a headache dealing with me and my onesie. I wore the uniform for her benefit.
But making all these excuses kind of implied that I really wanted to wear the bear onesie. Maybe the bear stuff had actually affected my mind for real?
“The other day, when we stayed at your manor, Yuna was wearing a bear outfit at night. That is how she usually dresses,” Noa said.
“You mean that adorable bear onesie? That’s your regular outfit?”
Seleiyu looked at me quizzically. I wished she wouldn’t look at me like that.
“You really must like bears, then.”
I couldn’t deny it. I just really wanted to tell her I wasn’t wearing the bear onesie for its aesthetics.
“I understand why you’re wearing a uniform now, but I’m surprised you’re not a student.”
“I’m actually something of an adventurer.”
Lately, I hadn’t been doing any real work for the guild…but I did do my part in the Land of Wa, so it was fine to claim I was still an adventurer, right?
“An adventurer? Ah, that explains why you are so powerful. While I’ve practiced in safety, you’ve had to take on life-threatening work at your young age. I think I understand how you’re so powerful now, Yuna.”
No, I just learned how to wield a sword in a game where I’d be revived even if I died. Besides, my bear gear kept me safe even while doing my adventurer work. Of course, I couldn’t tell her that.
“Now that I know this, I’d really like to see how powerful you are when it comes to magic, Yuna.”
“Unfortunately, I’m not a student, so I can’t participate.”
“What if we made a special exception?”
“Sorry, but I’m going to have to turn you down.”
“That’s unfortunate. Which type of magic are you good at, Yuna?”
“Well, I’m not bad at much. I can pretty much use all types of magic, just like you, Seleiyu.”
“That only makes me want a match with you even more.”
A competition sounded fun, but battling Seleiyu sounded like more trouble than what it was worth. No thank you.
Seleiyu looked disappointed as she left. What had she even come here for anyway?
“Hey, are you doing okay mana-wise, Shia?”
“That was nothing. I’m fine. I’m drinking an herbal tonic that helps with replenishing mana too.”
“Is that what the students have all been drinking?”
They’d been passing drinks to each other while they were eating.
“Well, we only get a little, so all it does is speed up our mana replenishment. We’re all drinking a bit during the break.”
“I had no idea that was a thing.” Then I remembered the sacred tree’s tea. “I have some tea that’s kind of similar. Want to try some? It’s supposed to replenish mana too.”
In fact, it could replenish both mana and stamina. Since I had my white bear onesie, I never had a real reason to try it.
“A tea that replenishes mana? I feel like anything you have would work wonders.”
“Apparently, it also relieves fatigue,” I added.
“Well, now I’m really interested, but I don’t think I can right now. If I replenished my mana more than all the other students, it would be unfair. I’d like to be on the same playing field as everyone else.”
Well, I couldn’t very well force her after she said something like that. Especially since I was essentially a walking talking cheat code. Honoring Shia’s wishes, I kept the tea in my inventory.