Council of Bears

 ☆

 
 ”Well then, we shall now begin the [Redo Commemoration — First Council of Bears].”
 
 Yeaaaah!
 
 Clap clap clap clap!!
 
 As I, the chairman, declared so, cheers and applause rang out from somewhere. It’s the kind of thing you often see on shopping TV programs.
 
 ”When you’re troubled, holding a [Council of Bears] is the thing to do after all, huh.”
 
 Nodding my head “yeah, yeah”, the lightly floating olive-brown teddy bear… Coco looked at me with a complex expression.
 
 ”Hey, missy. Isn’t it about time you graduated from us, hm~?”
 
 ”Huh, why???”
 
 ”Because. Already how many times have we had this council?”
 
 ”No Coco, didn’t I say it earlier? It’s the [First].”
 
 ”No, that’s not what I meant. Counting from the beginning before you started over, it’s already been how many tens of times? Missy’s already old enough, so stop being irresponsible and…”
 
 ”I’m twelve years old.”
 
 ””……””
 
 The puzzled gazes of the two teddy bears pierced me.
 
 ”Look here, no matter how you look at it you can’t say I’m not twelve years old. Or rather, if not that, then how old are you saying I look?”
 
 ”No, I’m not talking about how you look now. If you add up your age from before, and…”
 
 ”Shar(rup)!!”^[1]
 
 The threatening me.
 The bent-over Coco.
 
 The one who came between those two, and had been silent up till now, was the golden-brown teddy bear… Mel.
 
 ”Yeah yeah, you two, calm down please?”
 
 Mel, who spoke up, held her head, exasperated, with one hand, while sharply waving her other hand.
 
 ”Coco. Everyone needs someone they can consult with. Because Letty right now doesn’t have anyone she can confide with regarding the truth, we should at least listen to what she has to say.”
 
 ”Well, that’s so, but…”
 
 Coco who, with his arms folded, gazing down awkwardly.
 Me who nodded “yeah, yeah” after hearing that.
 
 Right. This council is something that I do still need. I can then look at myself objectively, and somehow, I can hear opinions from them that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own.
 
 That’s why I can’t stop now, for the time being.
 It’s definitely not because [I’m lonely if I’m alone], ok?
 
 Mel, who looks at me with a troubled gaze.
 
 ”That said, we’d be relieved if you could properly graduate from us though, you know.”
 
 ”Ugh… I know. It’s not good to stay like this. I need someone I can confide in. But right now, let me rely on you. Please!”
 
 When I put my hands together pleadingly, Mel let out a small sigh.
 
 ”Sigh. Well, whatever. It’s a state of emergency right now, so let’s start the council.”
 
 ”Mel, thank you! Coco too. I love you two!!”
 
 Seeing me like that, the two went
 ””Sigh…”””
 and shook their heads as if saying “oh dear”.
 
 
 
 ”Ok. So with that said, today’s agenda is [How to refuse an engagement with Prince Alvin].”
 
 When I announced the agenda, Coco raised his hand with a snap.
 
 ”Yes, Coco-kun, go ahead.”
 
 When I called on him, Coco threw out his chest with apparent confidence.
 And then he said one sentence.
 
 ”Just say this to the prince… [Sorry. I just can’t do it.]^[2].”
 
 Boof!
 
 ”Gufu!!”
 
 With a backhand blow, Mel hit Coco in his abdomen.
 
 ”Wai-, what the hell’re you doing!!”
 
 ”Are you an idiot? You’re an idiot, huh??”
 
 ”But if you’re going to shake off a persistent guy, it’s useless unless you say this much, you know?!”
 
 … no, you’re mistaking the point there, aren’t you?
 
 I facepalmed in my mind.
 Before me, Mel was scolding Coco.
 
 ”Look here. If it was just refusing an engagement it would be easy. The problem is [She can’t refuse without incurring the king’s displeasure]. You understand???”
 
 ”Then why not just say that from the beginning?”
 
 Fuu, the two of them took a breath.
 
 
 
 A while after, Coco opened his mouth.
 
 ”Hey, Letty. That king you talked about, is he really going to get angry about refusing something he proposed himself?”
 
 ”He won’t get angry, but I think he’ll be offended. A marriage with royalty is an honour for a noble house, and becoming related to them would lead to the expansion of your family’s influence. To refuse that is the same as making a fool of the royal family.”
 
 ”I see. Then it’s not so easy to just refuse it.”
 
 Right. That’s why me and Dad are troubled.
 
 ”In order to refuse, you’ll need a very serious reason.”
 
 Mel’s words made me think.
 A reason for refusing, huh.
 
 ”You actually have a fiance already, for example?”
 
 ”He’ll probably ask [Who’s the other guy].”
 
 Mel shook her head.
 
 ”How ’bout a religious reason?”
 
 ”I don’t think you can use the Dalis Religion, that’s the state religion, as the reason, now can you?”
 
 I replied to Coco’s idea this time.
 But Coco didn’t give up and continued onto his next idea.
 
 ”Then, what about health reasons?”
 
 ”Sure, she collapsed the one time she was before the king, but a bit of an investigation will let them know that she’s fundamentally healthy.”
 
 Mel gave that immediate reply.
 
 ”””Haah….”””
 
 All three of them let out a sigh at the same time.
 
 
 
 ”Yeah. In the first place, they would’ve done a background check beforehand, so I think any reason given afterwards would be revealed.”
 
 The bears nod their heads in response to my words.
 
 What to do.
 We’re stuck in a deadlock.
 
 The three pondered.
 After a moment of silence, Coco muttered something.
 
 ”… why not just reverse the way we think about this.”
 
 ”Reverse?”
 
 When I asked in return, Coco held his chin in his hand, and nodded solemnly.
 
 ”There was that game back then, remember? If you come to a dead end, then you just reverse the way you think.”
 
 ”Oh yeah, ◯◯◯◯, huh.”
 
 By the way, in Miyanohara Mizuki’s memory, she was such a fan that she cleared that series no less than three times.^[3]
 
 ”So, how are you going to reverse your way of thinking then.”
 
 Mel, who asked that with a cold expression.
 
 ”Fufufu… If you can’t find [A way to refuse the engagement] then ———”
 
 Coco held his hands high, then after a plentiful pause, boom!, he pointed at me.
 
 ”Then rather, why don’t you just not refuse the engagement!!”
 
 Coco, with his smug face.
 Turned down, and her body bent over, Mel winds up her arm.
 
 ”Your idea, was thaaaat!!”
 
 Bam!!
 
 ”Gufo!?”
 
 A second backhand blow burst out.
 
 
 
 ”…hey. Aren’t you treating me kinda terribly?”
 
 ”It’s not your treatment that’s terrible, it’s you that’s terrible.”
 
 The bears quarrelled while lightly floating mid-air.
 While looking at those two absentmindedly, Coco’s line from earlier was stuck in my mind.
 
 [Don’t refuse the engagement].
 
 Thinking about it normally, that would mean accepting the engagement.
 However, is that really so?
 
 Not refusing the engagement, yet not getting engaged.
 I wonder if there isn’t such an option?
 
 For example…
 
 ”Hey, Coco, Mel, listen. What do you think of something like this?”
 

TL Notes:

[1]She’s saying “sharrup” (i.e. “shut up” in a slurred, informal way) but I’m guessing the part in the brackets she doesn’t say, coz she’s too innocent to actually swear. ↩

[2]I think the author might’ve ran into a malapropism. Made it a little vague so I could ignore that issue ↩

[3]No clue as to what game they’re talking about. ↩