Chapter 129: Bear-san Takes Anzu To The Employee Dormitory

Anzu was looking around restlessly. Did she find the town strange?

I had done the same thing when I had come here for the first time, so I couldn't really blame her.

Well, I had been looking around to determine whether or not this was the game or another world, though.

「There are so many people.」

「Yeah.」

「Will we really be working in this town?」

「Will I be able work here...」

「We all decided that we would do our best, right?」

「The people in this town are really stylish, though.」

「Yes, but......」

「No one wears it.」

They all looked at me.

Why were they looking at me?

「No one else is wearing the same thing as Yuna-chan.」

「There are no bears.」

「I thought that there would be a lot of people wearing clothes similar to yours in this town.」

They all nodded.

That was what all of you were thinking!?

I was shocked.

There was no way people wearing Bear Suits would be walking around in town; that much was common sense.

As far as I knew, the costume culture didn't even exist in this world. If there was a place full of people wearing costumes though, I would love to see it.

Hmm, wait a minute... Did they think that there were people wearing costumes elsewhere since they had never left Mireera before?

Was it because they saw me wearing my Bear Suit and had no other information about Crimonia? No, that shouldn't be. There were a lot of people who traveled to Crimonia, so they should have known that I was the strange one.

「Are there no people wearing the same clothes as you, Yuna-san?」

This question was difficult to answer...

「Th-there aren't.」

This was the only way I could respond as no other answers were possible.

The only ones who also wore such clothes were the children working for me.

Also, it was their work uniform, not their casual clothes.

As if to contradict my words, a few children wearing Bear Suits walked by.

They were the children working at『Bear-san's Relaxing Shop』, without a doubt.

Hmm, they were walking around at this hour... What about the shop?

It didn't take long for Anzu and the others to notice the children, too.

「Those are!?」

They were looking at the Bear Clothes, of course.

Soon, the children noticed me and rushed to me.

As they got closer, I recognized the three girls.

「Big Sis Yuna!」

「You guys, what are you doing here? What about the shop?」

I asked them what was on my mind.

「It's our day off!」

Oh, I see. Today was their day off. I forgot about it since I didn't visit the shop.

「Yuna-san, who are these children?」

「They are the orphans working at my shop. Why are you guys wearing your uniforms, though?」

「Tirumina-san asked us to wear them during our days off to advertise the shop.」

That person was just......

「If you don't like it, you don't have to wear them, okay? I will tell Tirumina-san off.」

「It's okay! We all love these uniforms, after all!」

The girls answered with really cute smiles. No lies could be hidden behind such smiles.

「Tirumina-san also said that we would be safe as long as we wore these.」

「Safe?」

「She said that these clothes have the divine protection of the Bear, and no one would dare to pick a fight with us or try to trick us.」

Was I the divine protection of the Bear?

From my experience, wearing those clothes actually made you an easier target, though...

Was it really okay... I should really talk to Tirumina-san about this the next time I see her. This would have to stop if the children were put in any danger just for the sake of publicity.

「So why are you girls here?」

「Headmistress asked us to buy some ingredients.」

「Even though it is our day off, others are still working, so this is the least we can do.」

「That's nice of you.」

I patted their heads.

I was really glad that this was a world where it was okay to pet children's heads to praise them. In my world, there were some countries where it was seen as unacceptable.

「Girls, be careful while you do your shopping, okay?」

It wasn't good for me to delay their shopping for too long.

The children happily replied and left.

「They are all very cute children.」

「I thought that they were all problem children when I first heard about the orphanage.」

「They seem to all be obedient and good children.」

The women gave me their impressions of the children.

「The headmistress, who takes care of the children, is a gentle person and loves them dearly, so they turned out to be good children.」

They really were good children.

When I was a child, I always opposed my parents and only played games and surfed the net.

After we parted ways with the children who rushed to buy ingredients, we once again headed to the employee dormitory.

As we were getting close to the dorm, which was near the orphanage, we inevitably passed by one particular place.

「What's that?」

「A bear?」

「That's a bear for sure.」

「Is that the shop?」

They were all looking at the 『Bear-san's Relaxing Shop』. Since the place they would all live in was near the orphanage, there was no other way but to pass by the shop.

Two big Bear Statues were here; a bear at the entrance and a bear on the roof.

Also, a signboard, saying 『Bear-san's Relaxing Shop』in big characters, was above the door.

The women didn't move. They just stood there and looked at the bears and the shop, with their mouths wide open.

「I saw something like this before.」

「Ara, what a coincidence. I saw it, too.」

「I saw it as well.」

After they seemed to agree on something, they all looked at me.

「Yuna-chan, this is your house, isn't it?」

They were only half-right.

「It's not my house but the shop I manage.」

「Yuna-chan's shop......」

「Will we be working here?」

Some of the women seemed anxious and worried while some others were smiling.

「We mostly sell bread here, so I prepared another place for you.」

「You did?」

「I plan on making the new restaurant based on rice meals.」

Rice should be coming soon, after all.

「That reminds me, did you hear anything about the country of Harmony and Peace?」

「One of their ships came the other day, and they reopened trade.」

That was some great news.

I was really happy that I could eat rice again.

「The master of the Commerce Guild said that he would send you some rice soon.」

That would be great for the restaurant, then.

We left 『Bear-san's Relaxing Shop』and headed to the dorm.

「This is the orphanage, and the big wall you see over there is the clucker's coop. Also, you will all be living in that building there.」

The dorm was the size of an inn.

It had a lot of rooms, a bath, and even a dining room. It could easily be used as an actual inn.

When we reached the dorm, they all stood petrified at the entrance.

「We will be living here?」

「It's big...」

「It's huge...」

Well, it turned out this big because I made it with the image of an inn with a lot of rooms in mind.

「I will explain everything inside, so please enter.」

At the entrance, I asked them to take off their shoes and put on the indoor shoes, which looked like slippers.

They all obediently did so.

「The interior is beautiful.」

「The first floor is the common area. You have a kitchen and a bath, so you should all discuss on how you will use them.」

They wandered freely throughout the dorm.

Anzu and a few others went to the kitchen while the others went to the storehouse and the bathroom.

「This kitchen seems tidier than the one at my inn.」

I heard Anzu's voice from the kitchen.

It had just been made, so of course it was.

They would be troubled if the stuff I made for them was filthy, after all.

「The bath is also beautiful. And guess what, there is a bear inside.」

One of the women excitedly said after she finished exploring the first floor, making all of them go to the bathroom.

「It's a bear.」

「It's a bear indeed.」

「A Bear-san, huh.」

Just like at the Bear House, I made it so that hot water poured out of the bear's mouth.

「It's big.」

「Yes, it would be okay even if we all entered it together.」

「It will be difficult to clean, though.」

「That's why we should discuss how to keep it clean.」

There was no point staying in the bathroom, so we went to the second floor.

「The second and third floors are bedrooms only, so you can use whichever you want.」

A woman opened a door next to her.

「Yuna-chan, could it be that it's one person per room?」

There was only one bed per room, making them all single rooms.

「Yeah...」

「Is that really okay?」

「There are a lot of rooms, so it's okay.」

「I didn't think that we would each have our own room.」

「Yeah, we planned to rent one house for all of us, and, since we would have looked for a cheap place, single rooms would have been impossible.」

「Yuna-chan, you aren't about to tell us that our wages will be nonexistent, right?」

One of the women said in an anxious voice.

Oh right, we didn't discuss the wages yet.

I would have to talk it over with Tirumina-san.

「You will receive a proper salary, of course. I just have to talk to the person in charge of finances about the amount first.」

「It's okay as long as we receive something, even if it's a small amount.」

「Since we will be living in such a place, it's logical for our wages to be small.」

I should discuss it with Tirumina-san soon.

「On a different note, this is a female dorm, so please don't bring men inside. And when you get a man, please find another place.」

They were all at the right age, so they might have thought of bringing men over, but I would prefer for them to refrain from doing so here.

Also, I didn't want people I didn't know coming to my property.

「I will refrain from that for a while.」

「Me too.」

「With my husband recently passed away, it would be a bit...」

All of them agreed in unison except for Anzu.

Right, all of them had lost their children and husbands, so this rule probably wasn't necessary.

I regretted not choosing better words.

「Anything else you want to ask me? If there is nothing, I will let you rest today.」

Night would come in a few hours, so there wasn't enough time to show them around the town.

Also, even though it was just a two-day trip by carriage, they should still be tired.

「What will our jobs be?」

「I will show you the restaurant tomorrow, so I will explain it then. Any other questions?」

They looked at each other and shook their heads.

「Oh, right. Anzu, do you have enough food for today?」

「Yes. We prepared enough for a few days.」

「It should be fine, then. I will come here tomorrow morning, so be ready.」

After I left the dorm, I decided to go to Tirumina-san's place before returning to my house.