Chapter 214: 214

Chapter 214 – Bear-san Gets the Bracelet Back

「Please give my husband my regards . 」

Thanking the lady for the tea and snacks, we made our way to the door .

Thanks to the tea, my body had warmed up quite nicely .

While we had been enjoying the snacks, the lady asked a lot of questions about my outfit, but I simply claimed it was rain gear .

When we got outside, the rain continued to pour .

We didn’t stay too long, since we didn’t want the rain to stop on us . If it did, people would most likely go to the docks, so we decided to hurry and take the short way out while we still had the chance .

Luckily, there was still no one at the docks when we got there, so I quickly summoned the Bears and had them leap onto the river as soon as we were both on them .

This was Sanya-san’s second time doing this, so she wasn’t as scared .

The Bears crossed the river just like before, not being slowed down by the rapid river at all .

Just as we finished crossing the river, the rain began to thin out .

Phew, that was close; if we had taken any longer it could have been dangerous .

「Yuna-chan, let’s head straight back to the shop . We still have time till noon, but I think it’s best if we get it there as quickly as possible . 」

She was right; better sooner than later .

We didn’t really need to bring Ruimin with us, so we went straight to Dogrude-san’s shop, where that rich-looking carriage from yesterday was again .

That merchant must be here as well then, right?

He was the type of person I really didn’t want to get acquainted with .

Sanya-san and I carefully entered the shop and were met by the young shop clerk from yesterday cleaning the shop .

「You’re the ones who were here yesterday! I heard about the situation from the boss . Could it be that you have the painting?!」

The young man just beamed at us .

「Yes, we do . We would like to meet with Dogrude-san straight away; would that be fine?」

Sanya-san went straight to the point .

「Of course . Letobell-sama is already here to pick up the painting . 」

I knew it, that merchant really was here .

He seemed to have a bad attitude, so I wondered if this would end smoothly .

The young cleck knocked on the door leading to the back .

「Hurry up and hand over the bracelet to my master . 」

「Like I said, please wait until noon . That was the agreed deadline . 」

「How could anybody possibly bring back the painting in this rain? The boats can’t even move, much less cross the river . 」

「I asked some adventurers to fetch it for me . 」

「Even adventurers can’t cross such a rapid river . 」

We could hear people arguing on the other side of the door .

「Boss!」

The young clerk opened the door and called out to get their attention .

「Yes?」

「The people from yesterday are here . They brought the painting back with them . 」

「Really?!」

The young clerk gestured us in, so we slowly entered .

Inside, there were three people . Dogrude-san, the merchant we had already seen yesterday, and an old man with a long beard .

Emm… Why three people? Who was this old man?

「Why are there an elf and a bear here?」

「They are the adventurers I mentioned . Sanya-san, is it true that you two have brought the painting?」

「Yes, we do have it with us . 」

Sanya-san then looked at me . Oh right, I had the painting .

I took out the wooden box from the Bear Box and laid it on the table in front of everybody . Dogrude-san immediately stood up and opened the box to confirm its contents .

「Yes, that’s the painting . Thank you very much for getting it for me . 」

「That can’t be!」

The merchant also stood up and looked over the painting like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing .

「But couldn’t this be forged?!」

「The artist’s signature is right here, isn’t it?」

「Ugh…」

The man tried to call it a fraud, but Dogrude-san was quick to silence him .

「In this case, you have no need for the bracelet anymore, right?」

「Well, that’s…」

「Dogrude, can’t you simply sell me the bracelet instead?」

The old man finally spoke up .

「Master, you do not need to make such a request!」

「Rodis, Dogrude-san kept his promise . The deal was for the bracelet to be given only if he failed to provide the painting until noon . It’s over . 」

The old man replied calmly .

「But…」

「Trust and contracts should be very important to all merchants . Dogrude followed through with our agreement, and delivered the painting before noon . That means he has completed the contract . I cannot ignore that fact just because I want the bracelet . That would destroy the trust we have with each other . Therefore, the only way is to obtain a new contract to purchase the bracelet . 」

The angry merchant realized there was nothing he could do and bowed at the old man before sitting back down .

「How about it then, I wouldn’t mind paying for the bracelet, no matter the price . In fact, I can easily pay double what you got it for . 」

「Sorry, but it has already been agreed that we will be taking the bracelet . 」

「What? Who do you think you are?!」

The angry merchant burst out again and gave Sanya-san an evil glare .

Well, he would have gotten the bracelet if we hadn’t brought the painting, so he most likely didn’t feel very fondly about us .

「I am the older sister of the bracelet’s real owner . We came here to buy it back . 」

Of course, Sanya-san had no intention of stepping down from just a simple glare .

「It’s your sister’s bracelet, you say?」

「That’s right . My sister may be trouble, but even so, I can’t allow others to take her bracelet . 」

The old man stroked his beard and thought for a bit, gesturing the angry merchant to sit back down .

「So, you won’t let me take it even if I pay for it?」

「That’s right, I cannot allow anybody else to take it . 」

「Do you even know who you are speaking to?! This is the great merchant, Letobell-sama . 」

The younger man spoke up once more . Oh, so the older man was Letobell .

I had been sure that it was the angry guy .

「Rodis-san, this is Sanya-san, the guild master of the capital’s Adventurer Guild . 」

「The guild master of the capital’s Adventurer Guild?!」

Sanya-san took out her guild card to prove her status, immediately shutting up the angry man .

Her title carried a lot of power even among merchants it seemed…

「It appears that I will have to give up this time around . 」

Sanya-san looked relieved when the old man said that .

With this, the bracelet was secured .

「Master, are you really okay with this?!」

「There is no benefit in going against someone of her status . 」

「Thank you for being understanding . Still, I have to ask, why do you want the bracelet that badly?」

「I heard that the wearer of the bracelet will receive the protection of the wind . 」

「That’s true, but if you are not blood-related to the family, the protection is minimal . 」

Oh, really?

「I did some research about it, so I am aware of it . But it still does have a slight effect right?」

「Yes, that’s correct . 」

「I wanted to give it to my granddaughter . For merchants like me, bad things may happen to my family, so I wanted to give my granddaughter at least some protection . 」

「I see . As I said the protection would be minimal, so she won’t be missing out on much . 」

「Yes, I understand that . Well, please do tell your sister to never leave it behind again . There may be others like me who will want to get their hands on it . 」

「Yes, I will lecture her about it . 」

Unlike the angry man who was with him, the old man seemed like a nice person .

Well, he did seem a little strict on the rules, though .

「Anyways, Dogrude, what about my other request?」

「I’m sorry, but I couldn’t procure it . 」

Despite the fact that Sanya-san and I hadn’t left yet, Letobell-san started talking about something else .

We didn’t get the bracelet yet, plus they didn’t tell us to leave the room, so we decided to stay .

「I tried asking about it through all of my connections, but nobody was willing to sell . 」

「You couldn’t do it, even by using my name?」

「What a useless fellow you are . 」

The angry man mocked Dogrude-san .

「You shouldn’t say that . You couldn’t get it either, after all . 」

「Well, that’s true, but…」

It looked like there was still something else the old man wanted badly .

「All the people who have one, personally received it from His Majesty, so they aren’t willing to sell it . 」

「What about finding the artist? If we know who the artist is, we could just ask them to draw another one . 」

Oh, they seemed to be talking about another piece of art .

This old man sure loved his art .

「The problem is, I only know that they are a bear . Those who know the identity of the artist refused to talk about it . 」

Sorry, did I hear that right just now?

The artist was a bear?

「Yes, we know that, too . It says so on the picture book itself, after all . That is why, you were asked to find the artist!」

The angry man yelled at Dogrude-san .

「Rodis, lower your voice . 」

「I’m sorry . 」

「It wasn’t possible for my connections but to think you failed as well…」

「I am very sorry to disappoint you . I tried my best . 」

「There is no need to apologize . I’m just sad that I can’t give the bear’s picture book to my granddaughter . 」

Listening to the conversation, I finally realized that they were indeed talking about me .

The bear’s picture book was the one I had drawn .

「Yuna-chan, don’t you think that the bear’s picture book is…」

Sanya-san nudged me with her elbow and whispered to my ear .

Yes, I also knew that by now .

The bear’s picture book that the old man was searching for must be from me .

「An acquaintance of mine from the capital showed me the picture book . It was wonderful that I immediately asked if I could buy it off him, but he refused . Also, when I asked for the identity of the artist, I was told that His Majesty had ordered for it to be kept secret . 」

It looked like His Majesty had kept his promise and adhered to my weird request .

Amazingly, everybody followed his order, even with how weird it was

「But wait, if the artist is a bear…」

The old man’s gaze turned to me .

「Oh right . A bear could be…」

Dogrude-san also looked at me .

「Who else could use a weird name like “Bear”?」

The angry man also looked at me .

Finally, Sanya-san turned to me as well, completing the picture of everybody staring me down .

「Um, why is everyone looking at me like that?」

「Who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?」

「I’m an adventurer . 」

「Do you know anything about the bear’s picture book?」

It would be easy for me to deny it, but there was something that told me I shouldn’t .

「Do you really want the picture book that badly?」

「An acquaintance showed it to my granddaughter once . She really liked it, so it pains me to be unable to get her a copy of her own」

The old man looked really sad when he said that .

The reason he wanted the book wasn’t so that he could resell it; he wanted it so that he could give it to his granddaughter .

Yeah, the old man didn’t seem like a bad person at all . The bracelet had also been meant for his granddaughter’s protection and not his own gain .

Being sure of that was finally enough to make me decide on bringing out the picture book .

「Do you mean this, perhaps?」

I pulled out a bear’s picture book from the Bear Box .

As soon as the old man saw the cover, he reached for it .

「That’s right, this is it!」

The old man cried out after he took the book .

「Could it be that you are the artist?」

He looked back and forth between the picture book and me .

「Yep . 」

I had planned on staying quiet at first, but because of his sincerity, I answered him honestly in the end .

「I’m sorry, but could you please give it to me? I will pay you, of course . 」

He said he would pay for it, but I didn’t have any plans on selling the book in the first place, so I wouldn’t mind just giving it to him . Not just yet, though .

「How much are you willing to pay for it?」

I asked him, because I was curious about its value .

Author’s Notes:

Nope, still not finished .

At this point, I’m honestly not sure if I can promise ending it in the next one .

We need to get the picture book out of the way first, after all . w