After a while, Fina, who had been surrounded, was freed and returned with Sanya-san.
"Fina, welcome back." (Tirumina)
"Thank you for your hard work, Sanya-san." (Yuna)
Tirumina-san and I called out. The two looked a little tired.
"Finally, it's over. But thanks to Fina-chan, I got excited. Thank you so much, Fina-chan." (Sanya)
"No, it’s not a big deal for me." (Fina)
"Humility is great, but if you take it too far, you'll end up making yourself look low. Fina-chan has done something amazing, so you should be proud of her. Well, arrogant Fina-chan isn't like Fina-chan." (Sanya)
I agreed with Sanya-san on that.
I didn't want Fina to become proud of her ability to dismantle things, and I wanted Fina to stay as she was now.
"But it's true that the excitement was thanks to Fina-chan. The eyes of the people who participated and the people in the audience were different than usual. I can't help but say they were full of motivation. Everyone, I think I was inspired by Fina-chan." (Sanya)
Fina looked embarrassed when Sanya-san praised her.
"Fina-chan, if possible, would you like to participate next year?" (Sanya)
"Well, as for next year…" (Fina)
"Hehe, there's still time, so take your time and think about it, please." (Sanya)
"……yes" (Fina)
Sanya-san didn't force her, and Fina gave a small reply.
We wouldn't know what would happen next year until next year.
She might be interested in something different. It was not limited only to dismantling. Her mother, Tirumina, who had been ill, was now well and working, and so was her new father, Gentz. Fina didn't force herself to work on dismantling monsters.
The future could be decided freely.
"But there aren't many kids around Fina's age who are so strong-willed. We'll have to send a letter to Cliff and educate Noa about this." (Ellelaura)
It seemed that Ellelaura-san had awakened to the idea of educating children.
Noa, I'm sorry.
Well, that aside, we bid farewell to Sanya-san, who still had some work to do, and rode back to the Kuma House in the carriage prepared by Ellelaura-san.
"Then let's have a party to thank you for your hard work later." (Ellelaura)
Ellelaura-san said to us as we get off the carriage.
Ellelaura-san wanted to congratulate Fina for making it to the fourth round, but Fina declined because she didn't want to make a big deal. However, everyone except Fina wanted to celebrate.
However, since I understood Fina's feelings, we decided to hold a celebration called a thank you party at a later date.
After seeing off the carriage carrying Ellelaura-san and Shia, we entered the bear house.
"I'm home" (Fina)
"I'm home" (Shuri)
When Fina and Shuri enter the bear house, they said something like that, so I returned with them and replied, "Welcome home." Seeing me like that, Tirumina-san, who was behind me, laughed.
"Hehe, Yuna-chan is home too." (Tirumina)
"……I'm home" (Yuna)
It's a little embarrassing.
Shuri came to the living room and dived onto the sofa. Then she looked at Fina as if she had remembered something.
"That's right. Sister, show me the dismantling tools they gave you!" (Shuri)
I asked Fina if Shuri was also of an age where she was interested in dismantling tools. I didn't think she's that old.
"Yeah, okay." (Fina)
Fina took out the wooden box containing the dismantling tools she received as a Fighting Spirit award from her item bag and put it on the table.
It seemed a little heavy.
"Hurry up, show me, show me" (Shuri)
"Wait, I'll open it." (Fina)
Tirumina and I gathered in front of the table.
Fina opened the lid of the wooden box.
"I've seen it somewhere before." (Tirumina)
Tirumina-san looked at the dismantling tools and tilted her head slightly.
I have no idea.
Weren't all dismantling tools similar?
Of course, maybe there were good and bad things.
"Oh, it’s the same demolition tool sister uses!" (Shuri)
Shuri raised her voice.
I hadn't looked closely at Fina's dismantling tools, so I didn't remember. But if Shuri, who dismantle and used it together, said it, it might be true.
Fina slowly picked up one of the dismanlting tools.
"It's true." (Fina)
"Really?" (Yuna)
"Yeah, probably the same." (Fina)
Fina took out her own dismantling tools from her item bag and compared them.
One had been used and was showing its age, but they looked the same.
"Now that I think about it, the dismantling tools that Fina uses are…" (Yuna)
"...Yeah, my late father had it." (Fina)
I asked Ghazal-san the other day when he maintained the dismantling tools.
"Tirumina-san, what does it mean? Why are they the same?" (Yuna)
Maybe we could buy the same thing?
"I knew that Fina was using Roy's demolition tools, but..." (Tirumina)
Tirumina-san thought for a while and then spoke up.
"Ah, I remember. When I came to the royal capital for work, I was proudly shown off the dismantling tools." (Tirumina)
"Maybe Fina's father also participated in this event when he was young? And did he receive a fighting spirit award just like Fina?" (Yuna)
"Dad…" (Fina)
"Tirumina-san, don’t you remember?" (Yuna)
"Hmm, at that time, the dismantling was left to Roy and Gentz, so I couldn't do it." (Tirumina)
Could it be that Tirumina-san was a femme fatale when she was young?
For a moment, I could picture her treating her late husband and Gentz-san well.
"Now that I think about it, I remember being invited to something at that time. Now that I remember it, I think it was dismantling monsters. However, I wasn't interested in dismantling monsters, so I was shopping by myself. I have a faint recollection of it." (Tirumina)
"Tirumina-san…" (Yuna)
"I guess it can't be helped. I had no interest in dismantling." (Tirumina)
Well, if he were to invite her to a monster dismantling event on a date, it would be out. Even if she was asked to come and watch because he was participating, it might be difficult.
In my original world, if I were to be asked to come to a pig butchering event, I would refuse.
Well, before that, I didn't have anyone to invite me to.
"My dad attended the same events as me and did the same things." (Fina)
Fina looked at the dismantling tools with indescribable eyes.
Maybe it's a complicated feeling. If she were to attend the dismantling event she was invited to, her father who had passed away in the past, might have been there.
"But I don’t think Gentz-san said anything." (Fina)
"Hmm. Since it was about him, I wonder if he forgot about it? Or maybe he just kept quiet about it." (Yuna)
My vote went to the one he forgot.
"Sister. Two dismantling tools would be nice." (Shuri)
Shuri was looking at the two dismantling tools with envy.
Shuri had a basic dismantling knife, but no special dismantling tools.
Fina looked at the two dismantling tools lined up on the table.
And decided something.
"Then I'll give this to Shuri." (Fina)
Today, she moved the dismantling tools she worked hard to obtain in front of Shuri.
"Eh, is it okay!?" (Shuri)
Shuri looked happy and tried to reach out her hand, but she withdrew it.
"But... sister did your best with this dismantling tool..." (Shuri)
I wanted Shuri, even though she was young, knew that her older sister worked hard to get it.
"I have my father's dismantling tools. That's why I want Shuri to use my dismantling tools." (Fina)
"Fina, are you sure? You got what you earned for your hard work." (Yuna)
It was also a souvenir. It's not something that could be easily obtained.
"I'm a bad kid. I don't think I can give Shuri the dismantling tools that my father used. Shuri doesn't have any memories of my father." (Fina)
"...Fina" (Yuna)
I didn't think Fina even remembered much about her father. Maybe she remembered the warmth of being held. But Shuri didn't even know that.
"So, Shuri, sorry." (Fina)
Fina looked apologetic.
"Sister. Why are you apologizing?" (Shuri)
"Because I'm a selfish sister." (Fina)
"Sister, you're not selfish. You're kind. When I was hungry, you always shared your share with me." (Shuri)
"...Shuri" (Fina)
It's indescribable, sisterly love.
Tirumina-san was also looking at Fina and Shuri with an indescribable expression.
If no one was there, I might have cried.
"Thank you, Shuri. I want Shuri to use this dismantling tool, so can I give it to you?" (Fina)
Shuri looked at Fina's face, then looked at Tirumina-san and me as if to confirm.
Tirumina and I nodded slightly.
I couldn't deny Fina's feelings.
"Shuri, please treasure it." (Fina)
"Yeah! I'll treasure it!" (Shuri)
Her late father's dismantling tools went to his daughter.
The older sister's dismantling tools went to the younger sister.
Gentz-san, who had been the closest to seeing Fina's late father's dismantling, entered the house, and Fina took over.
Family ties were connected by invisible threads.
Come to think of it, Gazal-san was surprised when he saw Fina's dismantling tools. Maybe he knew it was a prize for the event.
I wish he had told us.
I guessed he was being careful.
Then, while Tirumina-san was cooking, Fina took a bath with Shuri first to relieve her fatigue.
"Children grow up without knowing it. I almost cried." (Tirumina)
After all, I felt like crying.
"I also wanted Roy to see Fina and Shuri grow." (Tirumina)
"If he were still alive, she might have been more childish." (Yuna)
Fina has worked hard to support her family, so she is a bit mature.
If his father had lived, she might have become a spoiled child.
"If he did that, Fina and I might never have met." (Yuna)
The connection between me and Fina was the dismantling. Without that, I didn't think we would have the relationship we had today.
"That's right. When you think about it, the connections between people are connected by the slightest thing, and if there's a slight shift, the connection may not be possible. When you think about it, the connections between people are a strange thing." (Tirumina)
It really was.
A person's life could change greatly depending on which path they took. However, no one could know which path was a good path or a bad path until they tried it.
"I never thought I would end up helping out at an orphanage or a shop, and I never thought I would get to know the lord. And above all, I never thought I would get to know such a cute bear. Then I didn’t even think about it." (Tirumina)
Tirumina-san looked at me and smiled.
I didn't think anyone expected to meet someone in a bear costume.
"Thank you so much, Yuna-chan. Hehe, it's embarrassing to say it again." (Tirumina)
"It's embarrassing even if you say it." (Yuna)
Both of us might be blushing.
"The bath was nice and comfortable."
"Mom, what happened to Yuna-nee-chan?"
Fina and Shuri came out of the bath.
"It's nothing."
"Yeah, it’s nothing."
Tirumina-san and I laughed as if to disguise it.
Maybe the path I took to meet Fina and the others was a good one.
Author's Note
I want Fina to be happy.