"Khum. Let's not involve your grandmother in this. She's got a lot on her hands as it is." I could see the count sweating bullets.
'Was her Granny Ervinsyl that scary? I should be courteous as possible when I meet her.'
"Can't you let me choose who I make friends with? By myself." Gles reverted to her angry face.
"I can. But right now, the situation entails your entire future." The count emphasized.
"All the more we need to involve Granny."
"You don't need to bother your grandmother when you choose a knight."
"And I can't have you force my friends into something they don't want."
"I'm pretty sure he'll agree to my request."
"By forcing him!?" Gles nearly shouted. Even though I think it wasn't my place to butt in on a family argument.
"I have a better solution that can make everyone happy." I was included in the disagreement. So, I can interject, right?
"Oh? Let's see what you have to offer young man." The count raised an eyebrow at my statement.
I took a peek at Gles, she nods.
"Let's move to an open space first. The gift I'm about to give can't fit in such a small café." Saying that, I stood up from my seat and headed for the door.
Everyone followed suit, including the count's knight. I brought everyone to a nearby park. I found a suitable clearing and turned around to look at Gles. Seeing her behind me, I smiled and summoned my grimoire. Though no one could see it other than me.
"You must have a good reason to bring us all the way here, young man." The count spoke.
"Of course. I was planning to give her this early on. And when I heard your dispute, I was even sure she needed this."
I took out the [I ♡ bear-bear] card and converted it. A purple bear plush emerged and I caught it as it fell.
"Here you go." I handed the 'toy' to Gles.
"So cute! Thank you!" Gles was very happy to receive the plush.
"Hey! Where's mine!?" Klee blurted out, looking envious.
"That's your solution? A toy?" The count wasn't positive about the whole thing.
I can understand him. After all, a toy doesn't help in a crisis.
"It's not a toy. It's a weapon. More specifically, it's a magic orb. Merely in a different form."
"Stop messing around. How can a plush be a magic orb?"
"I'm serious. That thing is a magic weapon that can boost the size of any magic projectile. It also has a small chance to summon a barrier. We can have Gles try it out."
"Yes!" Gles was enthusiastic about testing out her new item.
As expected, the mana bolts were much bigger than without the plush.
"Solon! This plush is so wonderful! It's so strong. And best of all, it's so cute!" She twirled around with the plush in her embrace.
"Whoa. Easy now, don't fly off to fairyland just yet. I still have another gift for you. They say good things come in pairs."
In a quick motion, I converted the [Big Huggable Bear-bear]. As for the colour, I chose spinel gray. Why? For copyright reasons.
Specks of light appeared around us, increasing in numbers by the second. The light began to amass beside me, forming a bear shape. The assembled light burst and a 9 feet tall bear emerged.
It looks furry, very furry, like a sloth bear. 9 feet was just its standing height. On all fours, it was much shorter, somewhere between five to six feet. True to its name, its fur was semi-transparent, like a spinel.
"Uwah! So cute! Is it really for me?" Gles was starting with wide eyes at the bear. Klee was pouting even more.
"Yep. And that's not all." A flash of light wrapped around the bear and an armour materialized. It was made of rose stargold, again for copyright reasons.
"Waah! So cool!"
Without declaring openly, I converted and installed the battle module.
"The bear is not a living beast but a construct. It's programmed with three different battle styles. Brawler for damage. Tank for protection. And lastly the Battle Mount. You can change the style mid-battle via voice activation. The armour is also collapsible and can turn into a fashionable collar."
"She's perfect! Thank you! It's the best gift ever!" She went forward and hugs the bear.
'Shoudn't I be the one getting hugs? And how do you know it's a girl?' I grumbled mentally. I faced the bear and ordered, "Boot up. Set 'owner' as Glesisha Ervinsyl. Switch to Battle Mount Mode. Armour off."
"Hello, Solon. Acknowledging orders. Registering Glesisha Ervinsyl as owner. Done. Switching to Battle Mount Mode. Done. Turning armour off." The bear spoke in an amorous female voice. She stood on her fours and turned to Gles. "Hello, Glesisha."
'Huh. She really was a girl.' Blaming it on women's intuition, I whispered to Gles. "You should try her out."
"Can I?"
"She's yours now, of course, you can." I smiled at her.
"Yay!" She skipped to the bear's side. And tried to climb up only to fail.
"Muu. Solon. Help me." She pouted like she was wronged. We tried to hold back our giggles.
"Khum. You know, you can order her to lie down. That way climbing up will be much easier."
"Ah! Uxi, lie down" The bear didn't respond. Gles gazed at me with pleading eyes.
"Set name as Uxi," I ordered the bear. "Command acknowledged. Changing name to Uxi. Command executed."
Gles gleamed and patted the bear. "Uxi, lie down."
The flopped bear down on its stomach and Gles went up to its back.
"Uxi, get up. Walk forward." Obeying her orders, Uxi stood up and walked slowly. "Faster! Faster!"
The bear gained more speed as it moved. When the bear started running, Gles was holding tightly to its fur and her waves of laughter were heard after she was a little further away.
"Mind telling me about the bear?" I saw the count walk up to me from the edge of my view.