The day after I promised Noa that I would take her somewhere else with Bear's Transfer Gate, I set up Kumayuru and Kumakyu cushions today, intending to relax.
However, I said they were just curled up on the floor.
Noa said she would send a letter to Misa and confirm her schedule.
Misa was also a daughter of a noble family like Noa. She had plans, and I didn't think she was in a position to go out easily. So, even if she did go out, it would be in the future.
Furthermore, Fina didn't have any dismantling work today, so she didn't come to my house.
So, I decided to take it easy today.
I was sandwiched between Kumayuru and Kumakyu and started relaxing.
There were no games or manga, but it was a great time to just laze around and do nothing.
After relaxing for a while, Fina came to my house.
"You're off from dismantling work today, right?" (Yuna)
"Yes. I came to clean." (Fina)
Fina said something that made no sense.
"Cleaning?" (Yuna)
"Have you been cleaning your house lately?" (Fina)
"……" (Yuna)
I looked away.
I hadn't done any cleaning lately as I had been busy.
However, I usually put things away, so it was not a mess. Above all, I had a convenient tidying box called Bear Box.
However, when asked if I cleaned the floor, I didn't.
"That's why I came to clean." (Fina)
"You mean, Fina will do the cleaning?" (Yuna)
"I will, but Yuna-onee-chan will also do it with me." (Fina)
It wasn't that sweet.
"Mama Fina is strict" (Yuna)
"I'm not your mom!" (Fina)
"Here, Kumayuru and Kumakyu, please help us too." (Fina)
Fina said to Kumayuru and Kumakyu who are curled up on the floor.
"Kuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu moved to start cleaning.
"Are you going to betray me? We promised that the three of us would relax today, right?" (Yuna)
"Kuu~n" (Both Kuma)
"Is that so?" (Fina)
Fina asked Kumayuru and Kumakyu to confirm.
"Kuu~n" (Both Kuma)
Kumayuru and Kumakyu alternately looked at me and Fina with troubled expressions.
Maybe Kumayuru and Kumakyu's liking was leaning towards Fina?
"Here, I'm going to clean up. I need to throw out the trash. And since the weather is nice, I need to dry the bedding."
Mama Fina pulled my hand.
"I understand. I'll do it." (Yuna)
Unable to disobey Mama Fina, I decided to clean the house.
If she were my real mother, I would have ignored her and locked myself in my room, but I couldn't go against Mama Fina.
I hung the futon to dry and wash the sheets and other items.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu deftly cleaned the floors, windows, and bathrooms under Fina's instructions.
It was surreal that a bear cleaned the house.
Fina was cleaning the dismantling area that she always used.
I always cleaned it after I finished using it, so even though it was clean, I kept cleaning it even more.
"Do you like clean things, Fina?" (Yuna)
"Hmm, I don't think that's the case. When my mom was sick, I took care of her and Shuri and worked to earn money, so I only did the bare minimum of cleaning." (Fina)
"That's right" (Yuna)
I thought Fina was having a hard time making a living at that time.
"I think when I started living with my father and saw how often my mother scolded him, I realized that I had to clean and tidy up properly." (Fina)
Oh, now that I thought about it, when Gentz-san and Tilmina-san got married and started living in the same house, I remembered that when I went to Gentz-san's house to pick up his belongings, the room was terrible.
"Dad just a matter of course. That's why mom often scolds me. I think that's why Shuri and I started cleaning and tidying up." (Fina)
On the other hand, maybe she's a teacher.
Besides, if she didn't want Tilmina-san to get mad, I guessed she would clean it.
"But, Dad, he's very careful about taking care of his work tools. When I was helping out at the Adventurer's Guild, he told me to wipe off the blood on the knives and not to leave them wet." (Fina)
"I think that’s what a craftsman is like." (Yuna)
No matter what kind of work you do, I think people who don't handle their work tools with care and respect will be betrayed by the tools.
Some people might say that if something broke, just buy a new one. But maybe it's good to cherish things.
"But Dad can't do anything else at all." (Fina)
Even though Fina said this, she seemed to be enjoying herself. Moreover, she hadn't stopped cleaning.
And for the first time in a long time, my big cleaning was over.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu were cleaning the bath and they were wet, so I helped them dry.
"Finished"
Now. All that was left to do was relax.
"Well then, Yuna-onee-chan. Let's go to the next house." (Fina)
"Next house?" (Yuna)
What are you talking about? This beautiful girl is...
"You’re going to use that gate to go out with Noa-sama, right?" (Fina)
"Well...I promised." (Yuna)
"So, we have to clean the other Yuna-sama's houses as well. If we take Noa-sama and Misa-sama to a dirty house, it will be difficult." (Fina)
"We haven't decided on our plans or destination yet. Even after we decide... And it shouldn't be that dirty." (Yuna)
……probably.
"Yuna-onee-chan must be busy all the time. You have to do it when you have time." (Fina)
Mama Fina smiled and nodded.
I wanted to relax because I was always busy.
But Fina didn't seem to be backing down.
I gave up and moved to the Bear House in the royal capital with Fina, Kumayuru and Kumakyu.
As Fina said, the bear house in the royal capital was not cleaned, so there was dust on the shelves.
"I guess you didn't clean it after all." (Fina)
I couldn't refute it.
I decided to obediently follow Mama Fina and clean this place.
I opened the window and freshened the air. Then, I used wind magic to blow the dust outside and start cleaning.
Taking out the rags, Kumayuru and Kumakyu began mopping the floor as if they were used to it.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu cleaned the floors and baths, and Fina and I would clean the areas that Kumayuru and Kumakyu couldn't reach.
There was also dust on the table.
I wiped down the table, chairs, and empty shelves with a wet rag.
Fina wiped the window with her small body.
If I dried laundry such as sheets in the royal capital, there was a possibility that people would know that I had come, so I dried it in Crimonia.
Since it wasn't used much, cleaning the bear house in the royal capital was completed relatively quickly.
"I'm tired~" (Yuna)
Even though I had bear equipment, why did I feel tired?
"Well then, Yuna-onee-chan. Next, let's go to Mileela town." (Fina)
Fina said horrible things.
"Are you still going to do it?" (Yuna)
"Yeah, it's starting to be fun." (Fina)
Mama Fina said with a smile.
Me, Kumayuru, and Kumakyu couldn't go against Fina, so we moved to Mileela.
The bear house in Mileela town was the largest.
After all, it was a four-story building.
"Then let’s start from the top."
There was a large bath on the 4th floor.
It was not used, so it was not dirty.
However, I would clean up according to Mama Fina's instructions.
The stairs would also be cleaned from the 4th floor down.
The third floor was my room and guest room.
The second floor was a large room. Children from orphanages could stay there.
I opened the curtains, opened the windows, and let the air circulated.
It just felt different.
Kumayuru and Kumakyu were cleaning the floor using their large bodies.
The first floor had a kitchen, a small storage room, and a dining room.
There was dust on the table.
I wiped it carefully.
"Fina will be a great mother." (Yuna)
"Huh, be a mother?" (Fina)
"Yes, I think you can discipline your children properly. And you can cook too." (Yuna)
"I wonder if I can do it. But if they're children like Yuna-onee-chan, maybe they would listen to me." (Fina)
"Mama Fina, I'm hungry. Food." (Yuna)
"We'll eat dinner after we finish cleaning." (Fina)
"Mam Fina is strict" (Yuna)
Laughter escaped from Fina and me.
All jokes aside, I cleaned seriously.
Cleaning was a hassle, but it felt good when it was clean.
It went without saying that it's better to be clean than dirty.
From now on, if you had time, it might be a good idea to clean it.
And the cleaning of the bear house in Mileela was completed safely.
After cleaning the bear house in Mileela, we couldn't stop Fina's desire to clean and moved to the dwarf town.
Of course we ate.
The house in the dwarf town was not a bear house. It was a very ordinary old house.
It had been a while since I had been to the dwarf town, so the dust was gathering. It was dirtier than other city houses.
However, the house in the dwarven town was purchased solely for the purpose of placing Bear's Transfer Gate, so there was no need to wash bed sheets or anything like that. So I just swept, cleaned the shelves, and cleaned the windows. By the time we reached the fourth house, we were dividing up the house and cleaning. Fina swept the floor, and Kumayuru and Kumakyu wiped the clean floor. I cleaned the windows.
It didn't take long to finish cleaning the house in dwarf town.
"Fina. It's already late, so let's end this, okay?" (Yuna)
"Yes. The rest will be tomorrow." (Fina)
"Are you sure you’re going to do everything?" (Yuna)
"I think Land of Harmoni is safe because Cagalli-san is there, but I wonder if Cagalli-san does the cleaning?" (Fina)
……Why. All I could imagine was barrels of sake lying around the room.
"You said that the person who takes care of Cagalli-san comes from time to time, so it’s okay, right?" (Fina)
I didn't want to clean if possible.
Not to mention, it was such a large mansion.
If it were me, I would just clean the rooms I used, but Fina seemed to want to clean all the rooms.
I managed to avoid cleaning the Land of Harmoni, but I ended up cleaning houses in other cities.
"I don't take Noa everywhere." (Yuna)
I tried to resist in vain.
"Even if you don't go, you still have to clean up." (Fina)
I was confronted with the truth and suffered a crushing defeat.
It seemed like it would be a while before I could relax and take a nap.
Also, I wondered how many other bear houses there were.
I stopped thinking.
Me, Kumayuru, and Kumakyu worked hard and finished cleaning other houses as well.
Author's Note
Cleaning with Fina.
I'm planning on going out next time.
...
* Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Please note that some kanji have been revised to match the book, so some may not have been revised.