After completing the ice dragon egg puzzle with Fina, I used Bear's Transfer Gate to come to the capital.
It's a pain, but I couldn't leave Ellelaura-san alone.
There was no doubt that if I left her alone, it would become even more troublesome.
I was debating whether to go to the castle or Ellelaura-san's house. I decided to go to Ellelaura-san's mansion.
The reason was that precious flowers were used in the pressed flowers that Shia made.
Even if I met Ellelaura-san at the castle, I would ended up going to Ellelaura-san's mansion to check on the pressed flowers.
I actually thought about going to see Flora-sama, but if I went to see her, the King would come with me.
If that happened, I had a feeling that the topic of pressed flowers would become a big topic.
All I had to do was avoid trouble.
I could go see Flora-sama after the pressed flower incident was over.
That's why I came to Cliff's house in the capital, Ellelaura mansion.
"Yuna-san, it's been a while." (Surilina)
Surilina-san, a maid who worked at a mansion in the capital, welcomed me.
"I was called by Ellelaura-san." (Yuna)
"Yes, I have heard your story. I have been asked to entertain Yuna-san when she comes." (Surilina)
Surilina-san guided me to the guest room.
And just as she said, she prepared sweets and tea and offered me hospitality.
I ate cookies and drank tea.
Delicious.
As I was leisurely eating sweets and drinking tea, the door opened and a beautiful girl with golden hair came in.
"Yuna-san!" (Shia)
The person who entered the room was Shia wearing a school uniform.
She was still a beautiful girl.
A bright, hard worker, daughter of an aristocrat, and a beautiful girl. I guessed she'd be popular at school.
"Shia, it’s been a while." (Yuna)
Shia sat on the chair in front of me.
Then, Surilina-san entered the room, placed tea and sweets in front of Shia, bowed her head and left.
Maids are amazing.
"Are you here about pressed flowers?" (Shia)
"Yes, I heard that precious flowers are used for pressed flowers." (Yuna)
"Please wait a little" (Shia)
After saying that, Shia put the cookie in her mouth and left the room.
But she'd be back within a few minutes.
Shia came back and was holding a picture frame.
And then she placed a picture frame in front of me.
It's a picture frame with pressed flowers in it.
"It looks like this flower." (Shia)
Shia pointed to a flower.
It's a bluish flower.
The flower had six petals that spread out like fireworks.
"This flower." (Yuna)
I couldn't tell even if I looked at it.
It just looked like a normal blue flower.
I wondered if I could figure it out if I used my bear observation skills.
I placed my bear puppet at the location of the blue flower and tried using the skill.
Pressed flowers: made by crushing and drying flowers
...I felt angry.
Yes, but it's different.
I wanted to know what kind of dog it was, so when I searched for it, I was told "dog."
Some people might not know about pressed flowers, so that's one possible answer.
For me now, I wanted to shout out loud that it's different.
"By the way, how did you know this flower was precious?" (Yuna)
If I couldn't figure it out with my bear's observational eye, I would just ask.
However, it had been a while since I made pressed flowers.
Whether it's Shia or Ellelaura-san, if they were familiar with flowers, they would have noticed this sooner.
"It is……" (Shia)
Shia told me the story.
Apparently, someone came to the house to meet Ellelaura-san because of her work.
At that time, the person in question saw the pressed flowers that were displayed in Ellelaura-san's office.
"Are there pressed flowers decorating Ellelaura-san's office?" (Yuna)
"My mother took it to me. She said, 'This is nice. It's handmade by my daughter, so I'm going to borrow it for a while.'" (Shia)
...Ellelaura-san.
I guessed it's the same thing as sometimes I saw on TV pictures that children had drawn were hung on the wall.
If you're a parent, you're probably displaying your child's drawings with great care. If I were a child, I would feel embarrassed.
"Well, I wasn't attached to pressed flowers either, and I didn't want to throw them away, so I lent her." (Shia)
I also had no attachment to pressed flowers.
If someone asked me to lend it to them, I would lend it to them without thinking about it.
"So, who is that person? A florist?" (Yuna)
If they were nobles, they would decorate something with flowers or give it as gifts.
Maybe a florist was called to this house for some reason.
"Not a florist, but from the Ministry of Magic." (Shia)
"Ministry of Magic?" (Yuna)
Hearing it for the first time.
"I don't think the general public knows much about it, but the Ministry of Magic is a place that research things like magic, mana, and magic tools." (Shia)
"There is such a thing." (Yuna)
"Yes, magic and magic tools can be dangerous, so the government runs them." (Shia)
It was true that magic and magic tools could be dangerous depending on how they were used.
Aside from magic, magic tools could often be used by ordinary people.
It would be a big problem if you used mana and it exploded.
"The Ministry of Magic came and saw the pressed flowers in my mother's office." (Shia)
So, some precious flowers were used in the pressed flowers, and Ellelaura-san approached Shia, who had made the pressed flowers, and after hearing from Shia about what she had done with us in Crimonia, she called me through Cliff. Did that mean it's gone?
I understood the flow.
"I just want to confirm. Have you told them where you got the flowers?" (Yuna)
"You're talking about Targui, aren't you? Mother asked me if I knew where I got the flowers, but I lied and told her that Yuna-san had picked them. Because I promised you that I wouldn't talk about Targui" (Shia)
Shia answered with a smile.
I asked Shia not to tell anyone about Targui.
She had kept her promise at that time.
Shia's smile was dazzling.
"So, what are you going to do? Mother might ask you to pick some." (Shia)
"Even if we don't talk about Targui, the fishermen of Mileela know about the moving island, so I think it's okay to talk about it." (Yuna)
As I said to Noa, all fishermen in Mileela knew about the moving island.
"Indeed" (Shia)
"But thank you for keeping quiet." (Yuna)
"It's a promise with Yuna-san." (Shia)
I was glad for Shia's feelings.
The same went for Fina and Noa, but I was glad they kept their mouth shut.
The details would be discussed after Ellelaura-san returned.
"So, Yuna-san, do you have time?" (Shia)
Shia asked me as I put the cookie in my mouth.
"Well, I'll just have to wait for Ellelaura-san." (Yuna)
"If you don't mind, can I ask you to help me? I think I've gotten a little stronger since then." (Shia)
It's like eating sweets, drinking tea, and relaxing at someone else's house.
I touched my stomach.
I needed to exercise a little.
"A little bit is fine." (Yuna)
"Thank you very much" (Shia)
I put the cookie in my mouth and finished my tea.
Surilina-san took the trouble to prepare it for me. It's a waste if I didn't eat it.
Shia also looked at me and finished her tea.
Shia and I moved to the garden.
Shia handed me a wooden sword, and we distanced themselves from each other.
"Whenever you're ready" (Yuna)
I said as I readied my sword.
Shia took a deep breath, raised her sword, and slowly closed the gap.
The sword rose.
At the same time, she stepped in.
A beautiful sword.
I parried Shia's sword.
If it was Shia from last time, she would have lost her balance and would not have been able to respond to my movements.
However, Shia pulled back her sword without losing her balance.
This was proof that her legs and hips were well trained.
When I took a step back, she stepped in to follow.
There was no doubt.
Shia just swung her sword down.
I shifted my body and avoided it.
Shia seemed to have expected to be dodged, as she launched attacks one after another.
She was thinking carefully before attacking.
I flicked Shia's sword lightly.
If I hit it with too much force, the sword would fly away.
That's not good practice.
Shia tightly gripped the sword that was deflected, trying not to let it slip out of her hands.
It's great that she didn't let go of her sword.
This time I would do it myself.
I swung down the sword that was raised when she played it.
Shia immediately pulled back the sword and blocked it.
"Ugh" (Shia)
Even if she could block the first blow, what about the second?
I swung my sword to attack from both sides.
It's a monotonous attack: right, left, right, left.
Shia barely managed to block it.
It's like moving the sword without thinking.
So, if I shifted my attack pattern.
"Ah" (Shia)
The moment I hit her right hand twice, she was unable to block, and the sword hit Shia's body.
To be exact, it's a close call, so I was not guessing.
"Haa, I thought it looked good." (Shia)
Shia took a stance and hangs her head.
"Well, it felt good. I don't think you'll be too pessimistic." (Yuna)
"Really?" (Shia)
"Your legs and hips were well-trained, and even when you were parried, you didn't lose balance. Your attacks were also well thought out." (Yuna)
"But everything was blocked." (Shia)
"Well, that's the difference in experience." (Yuna)
"How much did you practice, Yuna-san?" (Shia)
"Hmm, I won't tell." (Yuna)
It's a game, but I'd played against over 100 people in one day.
I had fond memories of playing many practice matches against other players in order to win.
Swords, long swords, great swords, knives, spears, clubs, axes, and many others. I fought against people with various close combat weapons.
Because of that experience, I was who I was today.
However, I couldn't win.
There were also compatibility of weapons and fighting styles.
You wouldn't be able to win unless you had not only strength but also good luck.
I couldn't really complain because the opponents were random.
"Are you done yet? As long as you still have stamina, I'll stay with you." (Yuna)
"Please continue" (Shia)
Shia prepared her sword.
After that, I accompanied Shia to practice until she got her strength up.
Then, towards the end of practice, Surilina-san came over and gave us cold drinks and even prepared a bath for us.
As expected of a maid.
Shia and I gratefully decided to take a bath.
Author's Note
Arriving at the Ellelaura residence, and meet Shia for the first time in a while.
*This is the 800th episode to celebrate (excluding bonus stories).
It's already 800 episodes. I can see the 1000th episode. But before that, I want to aim for 900 episodes and do my best.
Thank you for your bookmarks, ratings, impressions, and reviews.
It's encouraging.
It's encouraging.
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