14 Dragon-chan has a reunion, and the King

AN: Any portions of a quote inside of [brackets] are to be treated as if spoken in Japanese, not the common language of the other world. Also, there is a line in this chapter that is a reference to Baba Okina's WN. Can anyone find it?

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When Sanya knocked on the door, a dark-haired girl who looked like she was 10 or, at most, 12, and wearing a black bear suit opened the door, holding in her mouth a slice of... was that pizza? She noticed me at about the same time as I saw her, so she bit off the pizza, and I watched as it vanished into her left hand... no, a white bear glove on her left hand, before she said something to Sanya. Sanya said something back, which made the girl raise her eyebrows in surprise. The girl then went inside, closing the door behind her as she did. A few minutes later, she came out, waving goodbye to a smaller girl inside, and came towards me with Sanya.

"So you're Nene? You're younger than I expected... you can't be old enough to be an adventurer, right?" (Yuna)

"I could say the same to you. [To think that the number one of World Fantasy Online was the same age as me! I figured you were at least somewhat older than me, probably around 15 or 16]" (Nene)

"I am 15, you... Wait... [number one of World Fantasy Online]? Nene... [As in, the number two of WFO? Who would have thought someone from Japan was here with me]" (Yuna)

"[Did you not get a letter from God that said that someone else from Earth is in this world like I did? I've been looking to see if I could find you for about seven years now, and to think you weren't doing so...]" (Nene)

"[Years? I've only been on this planet for about two months. You've been here for years, and you still look younger than me? How young were you when you were the number two?]" (Yuna)

"[Maybe it has something to do with my present from God? You just got equipment that you could put on as you were, I had to get born again to change my race]" (Nene)

"Can you either be talking while walking, be quiet and walk, or at least let me understand what you are saying? Who could have thought that you two could both speak another language that I'd never heard before?" (Sanya)

"Let's save this discussion for later, when we can devote our full attention to it, what do you say?" (Nene)

"Sure" (Yuna)

After that, we started to walk towards the castle in silence. When we got there, a woman Yuna seemed to recognize was standing there. From the emotions on her face, I could tell that Yuna had been hoping to avoid seeing her there.

"Oh? Yuna... What are you doing here with the guild master, and who's this girl with you?" (Woman)

"Eleanora, good morning. Yuna and I, as well as Nene, had a little business in the castle" (Sanya)

"Oh, is that so? Where are you going? I will come as well" (Eleanora)

"No, that's…" (Sanya)

"Oh, don't be so reserved. I have some free time, after all" (Eleanora)

"Is it okay with your job?" (Sanya)

"My subordinates are excellent, so there's no problem" (Eleanora)

After seeing our faces, Eleanora burst into laughter.

"Pfft, sorry. Don't make such troubled faces. I heard the story about the monsters from Cliff, after all. Of course, I didn't talk about it with anyone, so don't fret. I'll bet that this Nene is the one who took care of the other group, though I might be wrong. You're going to meet with the King now, right?" (Eleanora)

"Your personality is really rotten, Eleanora" (Sanya)

"But, that's because Yuna didn't say anything to me!" (Eleanora)

"I didn't have any choice, Eleanora. You are affiliated with the castle, after all" (Yuna)

"That's not a reason to muzzle Cliff, right? It was really hard to make him talk, you know?" (Eleanora)

"If you have already heard the story, Eleanora, do you really want to come with us?" (Sanya)

"Yes, I am coming. There is the story I heard from Cliff too, after all" (Eleanora)

With the addition of Eleanora, the four of us went to the Audience Room. Royal guards were standing at the entrance. It seemed that the guards had been informed of our visit, as when they saw us, they guided us into the room, where I saw a handsome man in his 40s or 50s inside. I assumed it was the King, but he didn't wear a crown. Though, that was the case for me as well, I may be an Empress, but I didn't wear a crown of any kind... they're annoying, to say the least. Hard, heavy, heat-trapping things that always start to slide off of your head at any motion. I hate them.

"You did well to come here... Oh? Eleanora is here too?" (King)

"The person who killed one of the groups of monsters is my acquaintance, after all" (Eleanora)

Saying that, she looked at Yuna, and so the man's - the King's gaze turned to her as well

"And? I heard that you'd bring an A and an S rank adventurer? Who are these girls wearing a Bear Suit and an old, beat-up cloak?" (King)

"Your Highness, pardon me! There isn't any A rank adventurer. The one who killed that group of monsters was this girl alone. I say that, but I am sure you won't trust me. The story of the A rank adventurer is a lie. The S rank who killed the other group is this girl, Nene. She actually is an S rank adventurer, though" (Sanya)

"I'm not so free that I can listen to your jokes. When are the adventurers actually coming?" (King)

The King was, as you'd expect, rather angry at that. He'd just been told that a horde of monsters numbering in the tens of thousands was killed by an adventurer who wasn't an A rank as he'd heard, but a young girl wearing a bear suit, and another one had been killed by an S rank who was actually a girl no older than 10 wearing an old cloak.

"That's why I didn't want you to meet them. Your Highness, this is the truth, and you just have to believe it. This is something I guarantee" (Sanya)

"I guarantee it too, in regards to Yuna - the girl in the bear suit" (Eleanora)

"You too?" (King)

"It's because she saved Cliff, after all. There is no better proof than this" (Eleanora)

The King was looking at us.

"Was it really you who exterminated them? Remove your hoods and talk" (King)

The two of us hadn't actually taken off our hoods, Yuna seemed like she'd just forgotten, while I hadn't because I didn't know how beastkin were often seen in this country, and I didn't want to have him be prejudiced because of the ears. Sure, I could have used shapeshifting to hide them, but if it came out, that'd be worse. The two of us removed our hoods, and Yuna, like everyone else in the room, seemed surprised. Part of it was, no doubt, them seeing that I had cat ears, but part of it was also due to us looking our ages, or, actually, looking three years younger than we were.

"I am the D ranked adventurer Yuna" (Yuna)

"I am the S ranked adventurer Nene" (Nene)

"You're just children! Did you two both really kill tens of thousands of monsters alone? And Nene, are you really an S rank? You look like you are too young to be an adventurer!" (King)

"I really am one. I may only be twelve, but my home country doesn't have any age restrictions on becoming an adventurer, you just need to have enough strength to beat a Goblin, a Wolf, and escape or beat an Orc" (Nene)

"For myself, I really killed them. If you want proof, I will give it" (Yuna)

"Is there any?" (King)

"I have the corpses of the Worm and Wyverns I killed" (Yuna)

"This girl has a bag that is a relic from ancient times, after all" (Sanya)

"She has something like that?" (King)

"I guarantee it" (Sanya)

They may be calling it a relic, but it's actually a gift from God...

"If you suddenly say that, I won't be able to believe it. However, if the two of you say that, it must be true" (King)

The King looked back to Yuna.

"I will express my gratitude. Thank you for saving the citizens of this country, and the soldiers' lives" (King)

"Don't thank me, killing the monsters was just something I did while I was passing by" (Yuna)

"…While you were passing by?" (King)

"That's right. You see, Yuna killed the monsters for my daughter's sake" (Eleanora)

After that, she started to recount the story behind Yuna's killing that monster horde with a smile on her face. I could follow about half of it, but that was enough for me to find it funny, like how Eleanora seemed to find it funny.

"A girl was on the brink of tears, and that was your reason to defeat them?" (King)

"Oh, come now, isn't that enough of a reason? Fighting for the ones you want to protect" (Eleanora)

"And, Nene, what was your story? Actually, I'd like to hear about how you got to be S ranked at age twelve too. Why don't you start there?" (King)

"Very well. I suppose I should introduce myself completely to you all first. My full name is Nene Drachen, Empress of the Drachen Empire" (Nene)

After everyone calmed down from the shock that I was also an Empress in addition to being an S ranked adventurer, I proceeded to tell them about the empire, the powers of the Imperial Family, and most of the important parts of my story up until the point when I reported the subjugation to Sanya.

"Let me get this straight: You are just about the only survivor of an Empire everyone thought had been dead for centuries, were a part of its Imperial Family, and that family is actually a family of Dragons that can shapeshift? That country is now gone, you have no desire to rebuild it, and then, while you were coming here, just because you wanted to get a new cloak made, you killed an entire monster horde, including an Ancient Dragon, because they were in your way? Talk about an irrational existence..." (King)

"Indeed, I would say I'm very irrational. That's not a bad thing though, sometimes" (Nene)

"True enough. However, the one who planned this will turn in his grave, I think" (King)

"Planned?" (Nene, Sanya, and Yuna)

"That's right. Since you are involved, it's okay if I tell you" (King)

The King told us about how it was all a man's plot to get revenge, using forbidden magic. I hadn't known of such, it wasn't in the game either. While I was thinking about that, I heard some noises from the other side of the door.

"You can't, Princess Flora. There are guests inside the room" (Guard)

The door opened a crack, and I heard some people talking, one of them, the only one I could understand, seemed to be a little girl.

"No! I will go see the Bear!" (Flora)

"Please!" (Flora again)

"Nooo!" (Still Flora)

"What is happening?" (King)

"That's… Princess Flora wants to see the Bear, it seems" (Guard)

When the guard opened the door to say that, a young girl, maybe five years old, slipped in past him and hugged Yuna.

"Miss Bear! We finally meet!" (Flora)

Flora smiled happily while rubbing against Yuna's stomach.

"What, you are an acquaintance of Flora?" (King)

"The last time I went to the castle with Yuna, we met Princess Flora" (Eleanora)

"Is it possible that the Bear Picture Book is…" (King)

"You saw it? Yuna was the one who wrote it. It was great, right?" (Eleanora)

"What to say. The pictures were really quite cute. When I asked who wrote it, Flora just responded that it was the Bear, you see. Now I understand why" (King)

He looked at Yuna, whose face was saying "I'm a bear, so what?"

"Bear, let's play!" (Flora)

"Umm, I don't know..." (Yuna)

Yuna looked around at everyone.

"I don't mind!" (King)

"Do you want to play too, Purple Kitty?" (Flora)

As she said that, everyone heard the sound of a hungry little stomach.

"Princess Flora, are you hungry?" (Yuna)

"Yes..." (Flora)

"Umm, is it okay if I give something to eat to the princess?" (Yuna)

"I don't mind" (King)

"You said it's okay, but is it really? What if there is poison in it?" (Yuna)

"What, you'll give her poisoned things?" (King)

"I won't, but…if you are a king, you should be a little more mistrustful, I think" (Yuna)

"Eleanora and Sanya are people I trust. It's not something I have to fret about" (King)

"Then, shall we go to your room, Princess?" (Yuna)

"Yes" (Flora)

"You just have to eat it here, and the strange doubt will disappear too" (King)

Yuna pulled out some cups of... pudding? That was totally pudding. She pulled some pudding out of her white glove, and handed it to Flora with a spoon.

"Princess Flora, please take this" (Yuna)

"What is that?" (Flora)

"It's a cold, sweet, and delicious dessert" (Yuna)

Flora took a bite, joy spreading across her face as she inhaled the rest of it.

"Is it good?" (King)

"Mhm…" (Flora)

"What, is it that delicious?" (King)

"Yuna, I want to eat one more too" (Eleanora)

Eleanora was looking at the princess with envy.

"Eleanora, you have had it before?" (Sanya)

"Could I have one? I haven't had pudding in years" (Nene)

Yuna took out five cups and passed them around to us, including giving Flora another one, as everyone eating it reacted with exclamations of pleasure. (AN: Please, don't lewd that line... Yes, I'm talking to you, Lenny)

"What, there is something so delicious that has been produced near the castle?" (King)

"I didn't know about this either" (Sanya)

"When I think about it, it's normal. It's a pastry that Yuna invented, after all" (Eleanora)

It wasn't like she invented it, as it was a recipe from Earth, but it wasn't like she could say that either.

"Is that right? But it's really delicious..." (Sanya)

"That's right" (Yuna)

"If they knew the recipe, could our chefs make it too?" (King)

"Yeah, they could" (Yuna)

"That's no good! Yuna is trying to build up a store with this food, so that the children of an orphanage will have jobs" (Eleanora)

"What do you mean?" (King)

I was confused by that too, honestly. Eleanora explained it, and so I learned about the orphanage, the fact that Yuna was raising what could only be chickens, and that Yuna was planning on opening a shop with the orphans.

"Well, I didn't expect all of that... Also, is it fine if I give you all some other food?" (Nene)

I pulled out several bowls of miso soup, still warm. Everyone took a bowl, getting surprised at the taste and heat.

"Is this... miso soup? How... where did you get miso?" (Yuna)

"I made it. It's not that hard... Would you like me to teach you so you can have it in your shop?" (Nene)

"Sure, once we get back to Crimonia. I assume you'd be fine going with me there, right?" (Yuna)

"[I was already planning on asking you if I could]" (Nene)

"Can someone tell me what you just said, and what language that was?" (King)

"An inside joke, I guess. That was Japanese" (Nene)

"Huh. Never heard of it. Anyways, I won't ask for the recipe, but I would like it if you two could bring some for us every now and then" (King)

"I'd be fine with that. What about you?" (Nene)

"Sure, I guess" (Yuna)

"Eleanora, prepare a letter that will permit them to enter the castle whenever they want to" (King)

It ended up being such that they would add the title {Hero of Erufanica} and the seal of the Royal Family to our guild cards. That way we could enter whenever we wished, so we could bring pudding and such somewhat regularly.